A wedding and a bump

Where oh where to begin.  Last weekend was so full.

On Thursday we drove home via the glorious I-5.  If I had to guess how much of my life I’ve spent on that drive…

So Thursday morning I got up early because I had a few things I wanted to get done before the commute home.  First, breakfast.

Another vegan tofu “scramble” with a sliced peach on the side (as if you couldn’t figure out what that fruit was).

And my folate, DHA and iced tea.  Naturally.

After breakfast, I ran some errands, and then went for a quick jog to the beach.

After my shower, I debated making a quick lunch at home, but decided to head to Glendale a bit early instead.  I was supposed to pick up Kyle at work so we could leave straight from there (easy freeway access) and since I’d never been to the Whole Foods in Glendale, I seized the opportunity.  Getting me to leave the Westside happens infrequently.

Is visiting all the Whole Foods stores a weird life goal?  Because I definitely think it could be a bucket list kind of thing for me.  Glendale – check!

Salad bar mash up – romaine, tomatoes, balsamic mushrooms, curry ginger cauliflower, vegan potato salad.

I was trying to get random foods for nutrient variety.  I already had a ton of car snacks packed, so the salad beast was more than enough to split for both lunch and dinner.

I also got a hodge podge of cinnamon glazed roasted squash & sweet potatoes and breakfast potato hash.  It was the other part of my dinner.

I got lots of vegetarian pizza for Kyle and then swooped over to pick him up from work.

And we were off!

We got home around 8 pm, but my parents were still out (the social lives of those two…I swear!).  Kyle made me wait until they got home to open a package for us (signing for it at the post office was one of my pre-trip errands).

It was from my sister…adorable Aussie baby clothes!!!!  Eeee!!!  Everything is so cute!  [Sorry for the exclamation point overload, but I was thrilled]

I’m starting to have a little bump, so now it’s fun to hold things up for size. 🙂

Finally we took Milo’s cue and hit the sack.

The next morning (Friday) I was greeted by some meowing and pawing at the bedroom door.

No use trying to push her away – she thought my hand was a perfect hair brush to rub up against.

Mia decided she was my new pillow companion.  Please don’t give me toxoplasmosis my little gatito.

Eventually I made my way to the shower, and when I came back she hadn’t budged.  This is definitely a change from her previous self.  She was always very lovey dovey when I was in high school, but after I left for college she turned into a bitter cat.  Then my parents got puppies and she felt completely betrayed and took it out on all of us.  Kyle’s never been a Mia fan because she has basically hated people since he’s known her.  But this trip home she was back to her old self…all cuddly.  Like the little purr kitty I grew up with.  🙂

Crossword.  Decaf French press coffee.

Wild kitty mode…attacking the newspaper.

In lieu of showing the same thing back to back, here’s a peak at what I ate both Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning.

Step one: make oats

Step two: fry two eggs

I’m sure my mom had a lid that fit the pan I was using but I couldn’t find it, so that’s what’s up with the massive lid on the hidden pan.

I was pretty surprised (but thrilled) to find nutritional yeast in the cabinet and made my breakfast even more B12-ified by adding a hefty pour.

All the yellow blends together, but the above are Friday and Saturday’s bowls and the below is Sunday’s.

Both with a side of DHA and folate.

Mia joined me half way through my meal.  Not at all convenient.  She was almost as interested in sharing my breakfast as she was in getting me to pet her.

Seriously, this cat likes weird food.  We discovered early on that she loves smoothies and other random human food, but dislikes milk and cat nip (not exactly normal cat preferences).

Oh, another thing she does is lick people’s hands( like a dog).  Sometimes I think she’s confused, and thinks she’s a dog.

In this picture, she’s not eating anything out of my hand, she’s just licking it.  Lots.  Weirdo.

So yeah.  Breakfast was a long drawn out affair, due to the obstacle on my lap, but eventually she ditched for a spot in the sun and left me to (wash my hands and) finish my food.

The dogs were jealous the whole time, so after I was done eating I decided to take Milo on a run (Kona’s too much to handle).  I’ve taken Milo on runs before, but he is more out of shape now that my sister isn’t home to give him regular exercise.  I dragged him for the first few blocks, and then finally he figured it out.  Of course he started sprinting right when we reached a huge hill.  And I thought German Shepherds were supposed to be smart.  He doesn’t understand keeping pace AT ALL.  I alternated dragging him and being pulled by him, but as soon as Milo recognized our road again, he began to race home.  Geesh!  That dog.

 

For lunch, my mom and I went to the Tender Greens in Walnut Creek.

 

I got the Happy Vegan (my standard order), while my mom got the Harvest Salad.

After lunch we went shopping and I got new sports bras at Target (hooray!).

 

For dinner, my sister and I headed into the city for a double date.  Kyle was already in SF after a day of business meetings, and Marie’s boyfriend lives in SF.

Guess where we went?  PATXI’S!!  Love love love Patxi’s.  I’ve been the the Lafayette location before, but never this one.  Who doesn’t love vegan options like Daiya cheese, that don’t cost extra?!?

Kyle got his own thin crust.  Marie & her BF split a pan crust Daiya pizza with BBQ chicken.  And I got a regular crust with spinach and Daiya cheese.

I had leftovers, but they got demolished on the road trip back home.

Saturday morning was more mellow because Kyle didn’t have meetings in the city.

We watched college football and played with the animals.  Again.  And since I already showed my breakfasts before, here’s a shot of his.

 

I made him breakfast – toasted with avocado and fried eggs.

They aren’t allowed past the kitchen, but look who’s pushing her luck.  Kona’s such a stinker!

Kyle took some calls while throwing the ball for Kona in the backyard, while I painted my nails.  Clear OPI for my fingers, tart deco Essie for my toes.  In hindsight, this wasn’t great panning because I went for a run with Milo afterwards, but my toes weren’t done that well to begin with so oh well.

This run was better.  He had good energy the whole way through.  Unfortunately, it was way more energy than I had!  He didn’t want to stop and walk at all with me.  I cut the run short since I realized I was going to be dead if I went the full route at his fast pace.

After showering, I made a lunch bowl with the fridge leftovers – quinoa, hard boiled eggs, and avocado.

By the time I was done eating, I had approximately 45 minutes to get ready for the wedding.  SHOOOOOT.  Even though it didn’t start until 4 pm, it was pretty far away so we had to be out of the house by 2 (as per my parents’ insane overly-punctual-plan-for-all-possible-disaster standards).

We were 30 minutes early…perfect for a million family photos.

The fam (minus Laura).

And then me and Alene.  Can you see my bump?  It’s small, but it’s there.

I borrowed the dress from my sister (it’s this dress in orange) along with all the jewelry (from my mom).  In typical Elise fashion I brought hardly any clothes home and borrowed everything.

Ceremony time!

Here comes the bride!

Jenny is one of my oldest friends from childhood.  We played soccer growing up together and were so inseparable that her mom and sisters are basically my second family.  So so happy for her!!!  And she looked gorgeous, of course.

Don’t the men’s tuxes look sharp?  I loved them.  The bridesmaids’ dresses were really pretty too.

We mingled during cocktail hour, and I got to show off my little bump and discuss all things pregnancy related with all my parents’ friends.

By the time we were seated I was starrrrving.

Couldn’t wait for the bride and groom to be introduced…so we could eat!  Haha.

The food was buffet style and I was actually really impressed with the quality of the food and the options.  I never really expect much from catered food made in massive portions, but this was definitely better than other wedding food I’ve had.

I picked the cheese off the salad and had a hefty portion of roasted/smashed potatoes.  I shared some of my salmon with Kyle (and all of my pasta, after my sister tested it and confirmed the presence of cheese inside).

After dinner we danced the night away (not really).  We left at 9ish.  We were all pooped, with sore feet, and a long commute home ahead of us.

Sunday morning was another relaxing one.  My dad was on call, but ended up having to go in, so we said goodbye to him after breakfast.

And then it was time for FOOTBALL!!!

Kyle says I’m a demanding fantasy owner, but my players were really doing mediocre.

After folding laundry, packing up food for the road, and eating lunch (quinoa, eggs, nooch), it was time to hit the I-5.

Oh, but first I took my prenatals with this yogurt & home-made jam mix.

I made this twice over the weekend for prenatal pill taking purposes.  And I also remembered to grab a few of my mom’s jams from the freezer to bring home with me.

Goodbye doggies!

I had the above (quinoa, spinach, eggs, avo, nooch) as well as leftover vegan pizza for the commute.  Blah.  I hate that drive.  We found football on various AM radio stations – thank God – but otherwise it was as dull as you’d expect.

And now I’m back in Santa Monica. 🙂