The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

Hi everyone, and happy Monday! Just kidding, I don't know why people even say that because the first day of the week, no matter what calendar day it falls on is usually pretty awful, right? Mine has not been, but I am trying not to say that out loud so nothing blows up. I spent my morning getting new tires on our car (thanks, Santa aka Mom!) and am ending it with an OB appointment to listen to this little human growing in my belly, so things are not all that bad, for a Monday. Here is a little snippet into what else has been going on in these parts: Currently... Reading I am thisclose to finishing The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and foresee reading it on the car ride home tonight because I am literally in the last chapter and really need to know how this trilogy ends! This book was a little slow to start out but got really exciting in the last quarter and I am looking forward to seeing how the author wraps it all up. When I am done I have a spooky YA book recommend...

I have been thinking a lot lately about seasons (and not just because we are in full-on fall mode in New England with this lovely nor'easter blowing through) and specifically about the seasons of our lives. I would say we are in a serious " check that off the life to-do list" season with our first home purchase, one kiddo growing up and another growing in my belly, Matt plowing his way through school and both of us really trying to grow in our careers.  It is a busy, busy season and one that can be considered a little stressful. Our expendable income and savings does not exist; we owe a lot of money from buying our home both to the mortgage company, people that helped us out, and the credit cards companies that we had to utilize to get us through that time. Add in to that a mortgage, paying for school and paying our nanny to help us raise such an awesome little girl and there is not much leftover for the rest of life. Right now most of my income goes to chil...

THIS KID. My heart can't even take her some days. Hooray, we made it! This was not a short week for me, so I am a little extra excited over the impeding weekend since it seems like everyone else got to avoid their Monday this week. It was a good, productive week at work and at home and I am looking forward to some time to unwind from it all with my little family.  I am incredibly thrilled that we will finally be getting our washer and dryer situation taken care of this weekend. I know, life is full of exciting things for the O'Sheas right now and this ability to do laundry at home may just put me over the edge. New baby? New house? LAUNDRY?!  No but really, we have not been able to use our washer and dryer since we moved and had planned on getting someone to wire/plumb our basement to be able to use the machines we already had instead of buying a stacked unit for our small area inside the house, but decided to take the plunge and get the stackables, It would likel...

This past weekend we hosted a little "open house" to show off our new home and have an excuse to get our friends over and stuff them with food. The open house idea was awesome because people stopped in when they could and didn't feel obligated to be there at a certain time or stick around if they had other stuff to do; it also meant people were in and out all day and night, which was kind of great.  We have so many wonderful friends and getting to spend a little time with everyone and show them our home was so great. I am starting to realize that we have a lot of littles in our circle too because there was a constant flow of them too! Maddie had a blast showing her friends her room and doing "art crafts" with them. People brought over so much delicious food, lovely presents and sweet gifts for Maddie and we could not be more thankful! Our home feels so warmed and I already can't wait to host another get-together! Here are a few pictures from...

This morning as I was overloading my poor husband with tasks to do before he could get out the door and go to work, the door was left open and the strangest thing happened: it was cold! Like, real fall brisk cold, to the point where I had to think about layering up for myself and the kiddo. This excites me to no end because, like most people in New England, I love the fall (until it turns into winter, but that is another story) and with that comes my love of fall food. The slow cooker has been out and at work for a few weeks now but I am also looking forward to making up some soup, which is the easiest thing to freeze and bring to work during the week. I am also the queen of throwing a bunch of leftover veggies, some beans and some tomatoes into the slow cooker for random weeknight chili dinners. Top it with hot sauce and cheese and I can call it whatever I want! I thought I would share some of my favorite cooler-weather recipes, including some slow cooker gems. Feel free to share ...

I would usually say that fall, and especially October, is one of my favorite times of the year: crisp weather, Halloween decorations and a certain winding down after the summer months. So far, though, it has been a little bit more difficult this year. The weather goes from lovely to gross, I can't seem the find the Halloween decorations in the basement (or the time to put them out) and I feel about as wound down as a spinning top filled with espresso. In just a week's time we have weathered one hospital visit, three sicknesses, one broken down car and too many hours of stressful work days than I would like to track. Buuuuuut, such is this stage in life, and with our health back, a new battery in  the car (which was the best case scenario) and some sense of calm back at work, I have decided to start enjoying October to the fullest extent. This weekend provided a great opportunity for that as we were down the Cape for some relaxation and so I could run the Harwich Cranberry Ha...