The Romance Bookie

 I made some yummy things this week!   First, Turkey Pot Stromboli! Got this recipe from my best friend... Pinterest  😉.  Seriously who doesn’t use Pinterest for recipes?! The only changes I made to the recipe was, I ended up needing an 1/3 of the second sheet of pastry puff, to cover the top, because the filling was too much.  And I had to use milk, because the heavy whipping cream I ordered, was out of stock.  I recommend using the heavy cream though, if you can get your hands on some.  The milk was okay, it worked, but cream would have made the filling the creamier texture that pot pie usually has.  This was a bomb recipe, and one I definitely plan on doing again. Next Recipe: So my husband and I have been on a Brussel sprout kick.  More specifically figuring out the best way to crunch them up! I’m still trying to figure out how to do it best, without burning them.  My favorite so far has been taking the Brussels sprouts apart, so th...

 TAYLOR SWIFT HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT!! I REPEAT, TAYLOR SWIFT HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT!!! So Taylor Swift has done it again!  She has surprised her fans with a SECOND album this year!! As some of you may know, Taylor surprised her fans over the summer, by giving them a days heads up, that her new album, Folklore , was dropping the next day.   Well, Taylor has done it again!   Her new album Evermore , which is the sister-album to Folklore  dropped on Friday, again with a day’s notice!  YAY!!! 15 new songs, with two bonus tracks coming on the physical copies, when those are released in a week or so.   I don’t know how she does it! So unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to listen to the full album yet.  Having a screaming two-month old doesn’t really allow all too much time for quiet music listening time...especially when said, two-month old, is only interested in listening to the Moana soundtrack. 😂 But for Music Monday 2.0 this week, I chose Taylor Swif...

 Hey Everyone, I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!  Lots of goodies were eaten, but surprisingly I ended up not taking any pictures at all! But that's okay, being there 100% with family is important, and I'm glad we got to have a nice Thanksgiving. But here's what other fun things I got to eat this week... Wonton Wrapper Jalapeno Peppers: I went grocery shopping the other day, and out of nowhere started craving Jalapeño poppers.  But I didn't really want already-made ones, I wanted to make something on my own, so I picked up some ingredients and decided to make my own.   It was a very fun learning adventure...to say the least 😂. So I have only cooked with jalapeños twice before.  Once I chopped them without gloves...oh my God, what a mistake that was!  My hands were burning for hours!  The second time I learned my lesson, and put on gloves as I chopped.   Well, I apparently never sautéed jalapeños on there own before this.  I thought I ...

 So this is a random Music Monday.  It's just a song that I heard on the radio the other day, and it really stuck with me.  Not because it has any personal meaning, but because I think it is a really good song. So I have a confession...I was one of the people who made fun of Justin Bieber when I was younger.   I thought his fan base was crazy (I'm one to talk, being a Twi-Hard), and for some reason I just didn't like him.  I judged him. Now, obviously I don't know Justin Bieber.  I don't know his life.  I honestly don't know much about him.   But after listening to this song, which I heard while I was driving alone, I had time to really take in the lyrics.  They stuck with me.  If the lyrics are any indication of Justin Bieber's life, he comes off as a very misunderstood person in this song.  He's not a kid anymore, he's 26!  Only three years younger than me!   Anyway good song! Hope everyone has a good and safe week! <...

 Breast Feeding. Most of us have heard the phrase "Breast is Best".  And we all know it is true.  But what about adding "Formula is Good too!" to that statement? Why is it that people find it necessary to Mom-Shame any mom who is feeding their child a bottle instead of their breast?  I know, I'm not the first to write about this.  It's been said time and time again.  But I'm going to share my breast feeding journey; mainly because I just need an outlet to let my feelings out sometimes, and the topic came up again today in my feed. Chrissy Tiegen tweeted on Sunday this... "ok I'm gonna say something and you all are definitely gonna make it a thing but here goes: normalize formula." Once again, she isn't the first to say it.  She is a celebrity with a huge platform of followers that can spread the word and positivity on the subject.  Plus she is a mom.  A WOMAN.  Someone who can actually talk from experience on the subject. When I was pre...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 2020 has been an interesting year, to say the least.  I know many of us are not able to have Thanksgiving with our families, so I hope you are all able to make the best of it, and still at least enjoy some delicious food.   2020 has had its up and downs.  Maybe more downs than ups, for some people unfortunately. But it's Thanksgiving, and while I really do try to count my blessings throughout the year, this is the time of year that I really take the time to think about everything that is special in my life, things that I may sometimes take for granted, but should be extra thankful for. My list might have some very obvious things, but here goes: My Family:  First and foremost, always, I am SO unbelievably thankful for my family.  I have an amazing husband who is doing an absolutely amazing job being a daddy to our little guy; while also still paying his needy wife attention.  I remind myself everyday how lucky I am.   I am a...

 So I am a HUGE Taylor Swift fan!  The second a new album is announced I've either preordered it or run to the store first thing in the morning to pick up my Exclusive Target copy. When Taylor announced Folklore  in July, it was the biggest and best surprise!  She had just released Lover  last year, and usually only released an album every two years; so Folklore  was so unexpected for all Taylor fans!  But it truly was an amazing gift for us fans. I had just started my third trimester a couple weeks before the album came out, and babies in the womb start hearing voices in the second trimester, so my son listened to this album along with me and my husband for the months up until he was born.  It was playing in our car, we listened to it while we had our Friday night date nights at home BBQing in our backyard.  So my baby heard this album a lot. It is such a relaxing album too, very different from Taylor's other music.  Each album has had ...

Hey Everyone!  So when my son was born, he was a bit smaller than my husband and I anticipated.  Given, he was two weeks early; however, he ended up weighing at 38 weeks, when he was born, what he weighed at my 36 week ultrasound.  Now keep in mind, doctors warn you ultrasound weigh-ins are a super rough estimate and can be off by a couple of POUNDS (which is a crazy amount when it comes to the weight of a newborn!).   Anyway, my husband was born a month early and weighed over 7 lbs, so we kind of thought our son would be born similar.   Wrong! He came in at 6 lbs 13 oz, at 38 weeks gestation.   Now, before he was born I bought A LOT of clothes.  And I mean a lot!  I even bought in all different sizes, so I had a little bit of everything.   Unfortunately, I ran into two problems once he was born... 1. I bought all his clothes in the late Spring and Summer, when Carter's  and The Children's Place were having sales, and so everything I got...

 When you have a child, you will do everything to make sure your baby is happy and healthy.  Along the way, you'll also do everything to make sure you don't go insane from all of the crying.   While my husband and I are still trying to figure those things out, especially since they change almost daily, and depend on how our little guy is feeling.   One thing that seems to be working is playing him music when he starts getting fussy from being too tired. The current song that really helps? How Far I'll Go sung by Auli'i Cravalho from Disney's Moana ! He really seems to like it, and calms down almost every time I play it for him.  We've even started playing the movie for him, while he is in his swing (his swing is by the living room TV), or living room play pen, and he's even fallen asleep "watching" the movie! It might be coincidence, but it's exciting that he might already have a favorite thing! Happy Monday, Everyone!  Stay safe! The Romance B...

You Guys! My baby is two months old today!! 😭 My little 6 lbs 13 oz, 19 inch baby boy has turned into a 11 lbs, 21 inch baby boy right before my eyes! Time is flying by!  Everyday is a new adventure with him. He went from being this...   To this... Before I know it he'll be graduating high school. via GIPHY He's growing up so fast! He went from being a cute little potato (as my husband likes to call all newborns 😂) to a full blown infant! My husband and I see changes daily.  Not only appearance (because holy moly he almost doesn't look like the same baby!) but also in his development! There are certain milestones parents look for as their baby gets older.   Each time Alex hits one of those milestones, my husband and I are over the moon!  We call each others names, to rush over, and swoon over our baby boy as he impresses us more and more. As a parent, you will find that your child is the best child in the entire world, and that they are a genius every time t...

 So who loves food? No one? via GIPHY I thought I could share some of my favorite foods from my week.   This week, some of my favorite dishes were: 1. Scrambles Making breakfast can be very difficult, when you have a baby.  But once in a while I do get the chance to run to the kitchen and whip myself something quick together, while my little man is sleeping.   One of my new favorite things to make it egg scrambles.  They may not be picture pretty, but goodness are they delicious.  And what's great about them is that there are so many different options on what can be put into them.  And you don't have to worry about making it look pretty like a omelet; you just sauté some veggies, and whatever you want, add some mixed up eggs and mix it all together in the pan as it cooks, and bam!  Done! The two pictured contain: Left Picture: Sautéed yellow bell pepper, spinach, red onion, and prosciutto and then 2 eggs. Spinach is a great source of fiber, iron...

 Hey Everyone, Recently I randomly decided to watch 7th Heaven.   Does anyone remember that show? So the show is actually even a little older than before my time...in that I was five years old when it premiered...and still living in Germany, where I'm not sure the show played? I used to watch reruns of this show once in a while after school when I was in middle school.  It played on ABC Family (now Freeform), along with other 90s sitcoms and shows.   If you don't know what the show is about:  It is about the Camden family, a family of originally 7 (hence the name 7th Heaven.   It is about a mom and dad raising their five children (later on they have twins, so it turns into seven children).  The father is a pastor, and the mom is a stay-at-home taking care of all the day-to-day things needed to raise 5, later 7 children.  The shows lasted for eleven seasons and showed the children growing up.   Image from IMDB Honestly, it wasn't one of my fav...

 Hey! So I don't think I've actually mentioned my son's name yet, have I? Given the scary universe that the internet has become, I will only be sharing his first name; and only because it goes with a part of this post. Alexander. Or as I call him and my husband does not (😂), Alex. Why did we pick that name? Well, first off, my husband and I have had our baby names picked out for years.  I've actually known my names for a boy and girl longer, but unfortunately, my husband did not like the name I had picked out for a boy.   In case your wondering what name that was, it was Oliver.  My husband thinks it sounds like a dogs name.  I love the name Ollie and Oliver though!  However, I was not going to win that battle. I did win him over with the name Charlotte, which is what we would have named our child if we had had a girl. "Charlie" for short (at least for me, to my husband she would have been Charlotte).   But we did agree on our boy name still way befor...