Personal Archives - Life's Tidbits

02Nov 2016

And We’re Back … Plus a Big Announcement

Hi there! Remember me?! Yeah, I know, it has be a hot minute since this blog has gotten any love. It’s fall time in the US and everyone is posting beautiful photos of the leaves turning colors and the cooler weather has begun. Pumpkin food and drinks are in full swing. Fall is my favorite time of year in the States, but here in Bangkok it’s rainy season. The weather is hot and humid (as usual) with scattered thunderstorms mixed in throughout with week. And, unfortunately carving a pumpkin isn’t in the cards for Halloween when one lives in Thailand.

I have some serious fall envy going on!!

Time is quickly passing and before we know it cool season will debut in Bangkok. And by cool, I mean 75 degrees, if we are lucky. You might be wondering what’s been going on since I last blogged … let’s do a little recap of life’s highlights as of late, shall we?!

The majority of the month of August was spent in the States visiting family and friends. The biggest event of the month was my sister’s wedding!! Jellybean totally rocked being a flower girl. My favorite part was when she screamed to my husband, who was standing with the other groomsman, “Daddy I have to be quiet”! It was kind of hilarious as the statement was made at the loudest possible volume she could muster. Luckily everyone took her disruption in stride and it evoked a good belly laugh from the wedding guests.

Photo by Nikki Cole PhotographySeptember was a very low key month. It was life as usual here in Bangkok. I’m very thankful we had a month of ‘normal’ day to day life. Things have rapidly picked and pace since then and there are aren’t any signs of it slowing down in the near future.

We took a whirlwind family trip to Vietnam in October. Hitting 4 cities, including Ho Chi Mihn City, Hoi An, Hanoi and Halong Bay in just 9 days. The trip was quite an accomplishment, especially since Jellybean got a cold the day before we left. More details on the food, hotels, and all the sights seen to come.

Here we are on our second to last day in Halong Bay. GAHHH, it’s just gorgeous!

Halloween was very low key this year, but Jellybean did get the opportunity to rock her witch costume and do a little trick-or-treating. The most hilarious part was Jellybean would eagerly grab candy from the basket and then follow it up with an enthusiastic “trick-or-treat”! Despite various attempts we couldn’t convince her to say trick-or-treat before collecting candy.

The biggest news of all to share is … we are expecting a new little bundle of joy come March!! The nausea and headaches were pretty intense for much of the first trimester as well as the first couple of weeks of the second trimester. Luckily, I am now in the sweet spot of pregnancy where I feel good and the bump looks like a baby bump instead of like I’ve been eating too many cookies. :)

We made the announcement to just our immediate families back in August by handing them an envelope with the following inside:

So, what’s new with you?

13Sep 2015

Life Lately

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

We’ve lived in Bangkok for over month now. That just sounds weird out loud! Seriously, how does the time go by so quickly? Overall we are still getting adjusted and slowly finding a new routine for the whole family. Jet leg was killer and I reverted back to when Jellybean was just a wee one and ‘slept when the baby slept’ for the first week or so.

After only about a week here a bomb went off in downtown Bangkok. It gave the hubby and I a moment of pause. Did we do the right thing moving here? And if I’m being totally honest I had the ‘OH $H!T’ moment and seriously considered aborting this whole living abroad thing for a few minutes (or hours … whateves!). Things are scary at home and abroad. It’s the world we live in, unfortunately.

Being a stay-at-home-mom has been even busier than I imagined it would be. Between exploring the city (indoor playground, outdoor playgrounds, museums, swim lessons and playgroups), running errands and keeping up with the general housework I am totally pooped at the end of the day. The hubby thinks his job is tiring, but I’ve got him beat. :)

Here’s what we’ve been up to lately …

Jellybean and I hit up Ocean World on our first day out just the two of us. It was a total success – not only did we both love the museum, but I managed to get there on the BTS without getting lost! Let’s just keep it between us, but I spent 5 plus minutes trying to figure out which BTS exit to take, hahaha.

I don’t have any pictures, but we’ve gone to a few playgroups and Jellybean takes swim lessons once a week. The swim lessons are amazing. A vast improvement over the classes we took when she was little. We took a little break from playgroups due to Jellybean getting a cold, but I hope to get back into the swing of them soon. I’ve located a few new ones I think will be a good fit for Jellybean and me.

Indoor playgrounds are all the rage here. They are super fun and honestly as I already mentioned, we should adopt this kind of play area in the States. Jellybean and I had a blast at Molly Fantasy. We plan to try out a new indoor playground called Funarium soon.

If you are okay with sweating (seriously you are in Bangkok, just OWN the sweating) then Benchasiri park / playground and Benjaritti park are both fabulous places to take the little ones. I would also mention here both parks have workout areas, which kind of reminds me of Rock Creek Parkway. At some point I will have to go to the parks on my own so I can take advantage of the workout stuff.

And, last, but certainly not least … we’ve had some DELICIOUS food!

What have you been up to lately?

For more on our adventures in Bangkok, please click here or follow along on Instagram (#BitsOfBangkok).

31Jul 2015

Friday Favs!

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

TGIF! It has been a great week; jam packed with seeing friends, shopping, running errand and generally just getting stuff done. It feels so good to check things off the to-do list! I’m looking forward to some quality time with the hubby, Jellybean and pup this weekend. Hopefully the heat stays under control so we can spend sometime outside. Over the past couple of weeks the heat/humidity in DC has been very intense!

I went to Co Co Sala for the first time this week. While dinner was delicious the portion size was a little on the small size, for me. The dessert on the other hand was huge and totally decadent! I think it would make such a fun date night to go out for dinner and then go to Co Co Sala for dessert. YUM … I can still taste the chocolate.

Here’s what I’m loving this week …

I finally found the perfect t-shirt, thank you Madewell! I’ve been searching for them for a few months now for t-shirts I like. More than a few were return because they weren’t soft enough, too sheer or just not a good fit. A close second would be these from The Loft.

While shopping the Nordstrom’s anniversary sale for a second pair of the live in leggings the sale associate showed me a few cute tops to go with my new pants. She had some good picks, one of which is my new favorite workout tank top. And, seriously … why does the Nordstrom’s anniversary sale just suck me in and make me want to buy the whole store!

Gap was having an insane sale and I was able to buy Jellybean a bunch of bathing suites and clothing she can grow into. It’s always nice to have bigger sized clothes on hand for the day the current size no longer fits! =) I also noticed they have my favorite booties {similar, but just as cute} back in stock! I got SO many compliments on these booties when Jellybean wore them last winter.

I’m always on the hunt for a new chapstick. I like this one, however this lip conditioner is far more affordable and I actually like it better. I feel like the fresh sugar has to be reapplied more often than the Caudalie.

Last, but not least … I made this super delicious balsamic glazed chicken. I use chicken thighs instead of breasts since we were out of chicken breasts. I also didn’t use a slow cooker. Just threw it into the dutch oven and let it cook (stirring occasionally) for about an hour and a half. Winning … another recipe to add to the rotation!!

I hope you have a great weekend! What are you favorite items lately?

20Jun 2014

High Five Friday {Vol. 4}

by Nicole ⋅ 1 Comment

HAPPY FRIDAY! This week went by so fast and yet slow at the same time – a contradiction I know. Who else is excited that the USA beat Ghana in their first World Cup game?? I’m looking forward to hanging out with friends this weekend and going to our first Nationals game of the season. Unfortunately I didn’t plan ahead so Jellybean doesn’t have any Nationals gear to wear to the game – I think we will just dress her in red and white!

Let’s get to it … high 5 moments from this week!

1. Last weekend we SUCCESSFULLY travel to Seattle for my friend’s wedding and then back to DC. While I would be lying if I said travelling cross country with a 5 month old was a walk in the park, it was far less stressful and not a complete disaster as I had feared it would be. Despite keeping Jellybean up until all hours of the night (thank you time change) and completely deviating from her schedule she was in a great mood (most of the time). I was a proud mama and smiled from ear to ear when wedding guests commented on how beautiful, good natured and social she was! =)

2. Jellybean started holding her own bottle! About a week ago she did it for the first time, however it was only for a minute or two. This week she held it for an entire feeding without us having to hold the bottle for her (she even tipped it up more when the milk flow slowed down – smarty pants that she is!). She seems to still prefers for us to hold her bottle … I mean it’s so much more relaxing to be fed, right?!?! hehehehe.

3. Professionally it was a great week as well. Best week since returning from maternity leave!

4. No more traveling for almost 5 whole weeks. We have been on the move the past few weeks with weddings and other commitments. I’m excited to be able to be in my own house for the next few weeks.

5. After going back and forth on what type of storage to buy for Jellybean’s room (we are talking the past 3 months I couldn’t decide!) I finally made a decision. She needed places to put all the toys she has been acquiring as well as place for blankets. I found some cute canvas storage containers at Pottery Barn Kids. I hope they look as cute in the room as I envision!

What’s your high 5 moment(s) from this week?

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below. Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

23May 2014

High Five Friday {Vol. 3}

by Nicole ⋅ 1 Comment

What, what … it’s Friday!! Seriously now — TGIF! The work week has gone by at a steady pace, but I am definitely ready for the long weekend. We have a fun, but jam packed weekend planned!

1. Our nanny wasn’t able to come into work on Monday so I did a partial work from home day so I could take care of my little Jellybean! I was surprised how ‘easy’ it was to work while JB slept or played in her jumper. I enjoyed the mix of mommy and project manager ‘tasks’ throughout the day. It opened my eyes to the possibility that maybe one day (fingers crossed) I can have the best of both worlds – part SAHM and part working mom.

2. I was able to cross a lot of my to dos off the list this week!! Car registration renewal, booking hotels, ordering wedding gifts for friends and more all checked off the list. Feels good to be productive. Next week it’s time to tackle doctor and dentist appointments — I hate going to the doctor/dentist so procrastinating is the name of the game.

3. The husband and I decided to take Jellybean for a walk Tuesday night. The walk turned into dinner at Matchbox. The weather was perfect and we were able to grab a table outside. JB spent most of the time happily eating her firefly toy. Towards the end of dinner she decided it was time to get out of that car seat. She sat on my lap and observed everyone around her. The husband took a turn holding her so I could finish eating and she shrieked with glee. Not sure if everyone around us appreciated it, but JB is really starting to use that vocal box! :) I got some super cute photos of my lovelies …

4. Discovered salted caramel at Chopt. Yum!

5. It’s date night! The nanny is staying late tonight so the hubby and I can go on a ‘date’. I do believe this is will be the 4th time we’ve gone out alone since our little miss jellybean made her debut. I’m sure all we will do is talk about our adorable daughter, but a little alone time is definitely in order. =)

What’s your high 5 moment(s) from this week?

If you enjoyed this post, please add your tidbit by commenting below. Don’t forget you can follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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Category Archives: Personal

And We’re Back … Plus a Big Announcement

Life Lately

Friday Favs!

High Five Friday {Vol. 4}

High Five Friday {Vol. 3}

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