Never a Dull Moment in Labor & Delivery

As of this month, I have been a labor and delivery nurse for one year. I have seen and experienced some pretty incredible things in the past year. I cannot imagine working anywhere else. Even though I have probably assisted in over 150 deliveries in the past year, each one is a new magical experience. I love seeing the reactions of the parent's when they first see their child.
As I just mentioned, I have assisted in over 150 deliveries, in that the doctor delivers the baby and then hands it off to me. Well my first delivery last night was a tad bit different. Different in that I DELIVERED THE BABY! My patient was natural with no epidural. Poor thing was writhing in pain with each contraction. When I checked on her last night around 9pm, I noticed she was bearing down like she was trying to push the baby out. I checked her dilation and she was 9 centimeters. I proceeded to call both of our residents. One was in the OR, the other in the ER and said they could not make it to my room right away. Knowing that this patient could feel everything and was determined to get her baby out completely dilated or not, I decided to call the chief. While at the nurses station placing said call, the patient's sister ran out of the room asking for help. I ran to her room, lifted up the sheet, and saw a head full of hair working it's way out. I yelled for another nurse to call the doctor while I helped the baby work it's way out of it's mom. As I was clamping and cutting the cord, the doctor arrived just in time to deal with the placenta. While I had no choice but to deliver the baby, I refuse to deal with a placenta! I know this will not be my last solo delivery and I am actually pretty surprised it took so long for my first to happen. But it was a pretty exhilarating experience nonetheless. VABeau asked me this morning if I was nervous. I'm sure deep down I was, but I think the extreme amount of adrenaline definitely covered up any other emotions. While I often hate the unpredictability of each shift, I also thrive on it. Nothing beats bringing a new healthy life into this world no matter how it happens-with a doctor or without :)
-VABelle

Personalized Address Labels

I love pictures! Taking them. Being in them. Looking at them. Incorporating them into EVERYthing! So the best thing I ever did was sign up for emails from Shutterfly. I receive an email from Shutterfly at least twice a month offering new deals. I try to hold off on ordering anything picture related until I get the perfect email offer from Shutterfly. For example, I made our wedding guest book on Shutterfly and received 20% off the regular price for a picture book. I got our Christmas cards for 30% off. Granted I had to rush a bit to have them designed within a 48 hour period, but Shutterfly not only saved me a few bucks but helped me get them out before Christmas. The most recent email offer I could not resist. They offered free address labels! I love my coupons and sales as much as the next girl but love free stuff even more! I had to pay shipping but I was able to create fun personalized address labels for only $2.00 (the cost of shipping)!

What do you think? Would you be creeped out seeing a picture of us on the outside of your envelope?

I am definitely getting tons of use out of our engagement portraits. Some see an engagement session as worthless but I have had the total opposite experience. We not only incorporated our favorite pictures from the engagement session in our wedding, but I continue to use them for fun projects like this one. I cannot wait to use my new address labels. I'm only afraid I will love them too much and start actually paying for address labels!

Our Sunday night plans include the Closing Ceremonies(I cannot believe two weeks of winter sports have already passed!) and Mojito Night for VABeau and I. Enjoy your Sunday night!Yum...VABeau makes the best looking and best tasting Mojitos :)

-VABelle

New Twist on a Classic

Growing up in the South, boat shoes were a part of our daily wardrobe from March through October. At least this was the case in my family and if you were going to wear boat shoes, they had to be Sperry Top-Siders. I remember my dad wearing his Sperrys on the weekends or anytime he wasn't wearing his weekday suit. I swear there were at least 4 pairs in our garage at any given time because he refused to throw a pair out. My brother and I would wear them all summer. If I weren't wearing flip flops, I was wearing my Sperrys. Not only were they super cute in a classic, preppy way, but they were also functional, comfortable, and lasted forever. Imagine my excitement, when I started my first week of college at UVA and discovered it was also the shoe of choice for most people at my new school. I was set and didn't have to buy a whole new shoe wardrobe for college! That left more money for stocking up on the signature polos and sun dresses. In case you haven't noticed, I went to a pretty preppy college and the wardrobe was pretty simple.

Anyways, I love Sperrys. I have a couple of pairs of the classic tan top-siders and wear them all of the time. They are probably the only shoe I can wear without socks in the summer and not sweat in. They are perfect for rain, the beach, you name it. In addition, they go with everything! So imagine my excitement when I noticed that JCrew has added Sperry Top-Siders to it's repertoire. It makes perfect sense, of course the quintessential preppy store would sell the quintessential preppy boat shoe. Leave it to Jcrew to take the classic boat shoe and make it even more cute! I am obsessed with their Sperry Metallic Boat shoe. Unfortunately, I just cannot justify making this purchase since I take after my Dad and have at least 2 pairs of Sperrys hidden in my closet as we speak. What do y'all think of the new cuter boat shoe?Sperry Top-Sider 2-Eye Metallic Boat Shoe-$98

-VABelle

Thursday Randomness

*Easter is just around the corner which means the shelves of stores are starting to be filled with all kinds of Easter basket goodies. I get particularly excited about this because I have a slight obsession with Cadbury Creme Eggs. The creamy yellow and white filling is so deliciously sweet that I can never pass one up. I rarely leave a store during March or April without a Cadbury Creme Egg in my bag. I may have even been known to hit up stores the week after Easter to stock up on this beloved treat for 50% off. They only come out once a year, a girls gotta have reserves! In my experience people either love these babies or hate them. For me it's an obsession so these eggs are very very dangerous.....

Hopefully my 1/2 marathon in March will at least cancel these out.

*I bought a new nail polish at Target yesterday that I could not wait to try. I tend to wear bold colors during the winter and pale pinks or clear during the spring/summer. Last winter I embraced the black polish trend and this winter I have done a lot of deep violets and plums. I am now ready for something new so I decided to try the grey trend. It's very different for me but then again I felt the same way when I tried out the black polish trend. What do you think?Revlon Steel Her Heart
*A couple of weeks ago I announced our Valentine's Day gifts to each other. Well we finally got around to getting our rings engraved last weekend. I was not sure if I would be able to have mine engraved since the band was so thin but our jeweler said as long as I did less than 16 characters it would be fine. VABeau had my name and our wedding date engraved on his ring and I had his name and our wedding date engraved on my wedding band. The engraving process took less than an hour and we were both so happy with the results. It's like having a new ring! I keep asking VABeau to take his ring off so I can admire my name on it :) But I could tell he was pretty excited to see his name and our date on my ring too. I definitely recommend having your rings engraved. I know I am happy we did it. I would post a picture of the engraving but I'm pretty sure my photography skills do not include something that detailed.

I'm off to work for my last shift of the week. I'm hoping for a night filled with healthy babies and mommies!
-VABelle

Our Honeymoon-Day 1 in the islands

The Port in Athens very early in the morning

Our Ferry to Mykonos

On our ferry and so ready to depart for the Greek Islands

Eye mask-check, IPod-check, ready for the 4 hour ferry ride to Mykonos

The most beautiful water

The view from our ferry

The view from our hotel in Mykonos. Gorgeous!

The cute chapel at our hotel

The villas at the Hotle Mykonos

Checking out our villa while sipping complimentary check-in champagne-Best hotel EVER!

Touring Mykonos Town-Love these fishing boats

I think Mykonos was the most beautiful place we visited.

VABeau enjoying our first day in Mykonos

The famous Mykonos windmills

Pre-dinner sparkling wine at our hotel. I could live in this hotel forever.

VABeau was so proud of his red bull in a bottle

Loved all of the super white buildings in town

After dinner drinks at a bar overlooking the water

I definitely recommend Mykonos to anyone heading to Greece. It is amazing! More from Mykonos next week. Stay tuned :)
-VABelle

Entertainment for Your Tuesday

Last week I was lucky enough to enjoy a visit from my friend Kathryn. We had so much fun catching up over wine and pizza and Faccia Luna. While walking through my neighborhood in Arlington and showing her all of the sights, I was reminded of an amazing video I saw a few months ago. Some guy made a rap video describing how "gangsta" our neighborhood is. It is hilarious because where we live is the farthest thing from "gangsta." I think the best word for it is yuppie? Anyways, enjoy the video below. Pretty much everything shown in it is within a few blocks of our apartment:




If you enjoyed that video, you will love the one Kathryn shared with me from her former city of Richmond. These guys are hilarious!



I guess creating rap videos depicting your hometown are the new thing...
-VABelle

Benefits of the Blog World

I don't even want to think about how much time I spend each week reading other people's blogs. What can I say, I'm addicted! It drives VABeau crazy how much time I spend on my computer, he is always competing with the blog world for attention. In addition, he gets so frustrated when I complain about how much I have on my to do list that is not getting done. His response to that usually is something along the lines of well if you didn't waste so much time on your computer with blogging maybe you would actually get stuff done. In defense of my addiction, I have learned so many amazing things from my blog friends. Everyday I am bombarded with recipes, cute clothes, cooking tips, reminders of sales at my favorite stores, fitness tips, decorating tips, beauty ideas, you name it! Today I want to share two recent finds from other blogs:

Amazing Grass Green SuperFood

I have read about this drink powder on at least four blogs in the past two weeks! I was tempted to give it a try after several of the girls described the energy they gained from this magical powder. According to the website, the drink powder provides 5 to 9 daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Perfect for the girl known to go a whole day without eating a single fruit or vegetable!
Whole Foods carries it so I decided to pick some up last week. I was shocked to see that a jug of the powder cost almost $30. Luckily, they also had individual packets of the chocolate flavor for $1.69. I decided to give the packet a try before committing to a whole jug of drink powder. I would hate to spend $30 only to find out that it actually tasted like grass!
So after my 11 mile run last Friday morning I decided to try the chocolate drink powder. I put the packet of powder in the blender along with 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, and 1 small banana. The smoothie was delicious! Since I was starving after my long run, the plan was to have the smoothie and then still have cereal before leaving the house for the day. After downing the smoothie, cereal was definitely not needed. In fact, the smoothie held me over for over 4 hours. Not only was I not hungry, but I had tons of energy for the remainder of the day/night. Pretty impressive considering how much energy my long runs require. I had such a great first experience with Amazing Grass that I plan to return to Whole Foods asap to pick up a whole jug of the drink powder. I'll keep you posted on how daily use makes me feel.
The second amazing discovery came from Elefantitss Alegres. She described Wine Cube wine (aka the NEW box wine) in a post a few weeks ago. When I saw the post I immediately put the Wine Cube on my Target shopping list. So many recipes call for wine and I have been known to open a whole bottle when only 1 cup is needed for the food. As a result, I usually end up feeling the need to finish off said bottle that night or else it sits in our fridge all week wasting away. The cube is the perfect solution! I bought the Chardonnay Cube last week and keep it in the kitchen where it is designated for cooking only. I assumed Chardonnay was the most versatile cooking wine. Anyone have any suggestions for a better cooking wine variation? Even better, the wine lasts a whole month once opened unlike a bottle with a shelf life of only a few days. The box I got was 1.5 liters which is equivalent to 2 bottles of wine and it cost $11.99. Not bad for two bottles of wine and it actually tastes pretty good too (okay so I may have had a couple of sips while we made lamb ragu last week). VABeau loved the wine cube idea as well. We love to pair lamb and tomato pasta dishes with red wine. However, our lamb ragu called for 1 cup of dry white wine. Thanks to the wine cube, we only had to open one bottle that night, a delicious red. While perusing the Target wine shelves I discovered that the same company that makes the wine cube makes individual wine boxes. Are these not perfect for tailgating, concert, camping whatever?

The Adult Version of a Juice Box

While I spend way too much time reading blogs, all of the bloggers out there give me so much inspiration. Thank you all!
-VABelle

Exactly one year ago today.....

We got ENGAGED! Saturday February 21, 2009 started just like any other Saturday. I slept late, went for a run, and left my house for a hair appointment in Rosslyn. After my hair cut I headed to Charlie's house for dinner. Our 3 year anniversary of dating was Sunday the 22nd. To celebrate this milestone we decided to spend a weekend in the place where we met and fell in love-Charlottesville, Viriginia. So VABeau booked a room at the Dinsmore Inn and planned a weekend full of wine tasting and delicious meals in our favorite town. I had just started my new job mid-February so we decided to put our anniversary trip off one week so that I could fully adjust to life as a working girl.
So back to the 21st! Even though we had a fabulous trip planned for the next weekend, VABeau still wanted to do a little something for our actual anniversary. He invited me over to his house. He had kicked his roommates out for the night (something he had never done before-should have been my first clue!) and purchased all of the ingredients for our favorite meal to cook together. I was so excited about spaghetti and meatballs that a potential ring was the last thing on my mind. We split a bottle of red wine, snacked on cheese, and set about cooking our favorite meal. Half way through our preparation I asked VABeau to go across the street to pick up a red bull for me. I was exhausted from my first real week of work! I was stirring the tomato sauce when I heard him come back into the kitchen. Behind my back he said "here you go" and I turned around expecting my energy boost in a can. What I got instead was better than I ever could have imagined-VABeau on one knee, holding a gorgeous diamond ring, asking me to marry him. A lot of squealing, crying, laughing, and dancing around the kitchen immediately ensued. We still ate our amazing spaghetti and meatball meal and even though I've had this meal many times, it never tasted as good as it did that night exactly one year ago.
(Turns out VABeau originally planned to propose during our weekend in Charlottesville to honor our history in the town. However, when my ring arrived Friday the 20th he claimed he could not wait a day longer to give it to me) Totally fine by me :)
Okay, enough with the sappy stuff. I'm just amazed when I realize that in 12 short months we got engaged, planned the wedding of my dreams, and have already experienced 4 amazing months of marriage. I am so happy we did things as quickly as we did. We knew we were ready to enter into marriage together and did not want to wait any longer than we had to. It was a very busy 8 months for sure but so worth it! I have already gotten to spend 4 wonderful months married to my amazing husband.

In honor of the anniversary of our engagement, I want to share the infamous Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe. I have tried several homemade meatball recipes and this one is definitely the best. Now it's not only a delicious meal, but also holds so much significance for us. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed with some kosher salt to make a paste
• 2 (28-ounce) cans plum tomatoes and their juices, pureed in a blender
• 1 (16-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small bunch Italian parsley
• 1 Cubano chile pepper, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 recipe Meatballs, recipe follows
• 1 recipe Spaghetti, recipe follows
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add pureed tomatoes with their juices, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 cup water, bay leaf, parsley, Cubano pepper, and bring to a boil. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Add meatballs and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and meatballs are tender. Remove the bay leaf.

Add enough sauce to the drained pasta (that has been returned to the pot) to coat and continue cooking briefly, just until pasta is well combined with sauce. Serve pasta with meatballs on top and garnished with fresh basil.

Meatballs

• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped and sauteed
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley leaves
• 1 cup pure olive oil
  
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl, except olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roll the mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls. Heat the oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, fry meatballs, in batches as needed, until golden brown, but not cooked through completely. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.

Spaghetti

• 12 cups water
  
• Salt
• 1 pound spaghetti
• Freshly grated Parmesan

Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain well in a colander, return to pot, and toss with sauce. Serve with meatballs and Parmesan on top.

It is definitely a time consuming recipe but so worth it in the end. It's fun to make and we usually end up with a lot of leftover meatballs. We usually freeze the leftover meatballs and add them to our next pasta dish for a quick meal.

-VABelle

My Anthropologie Spring Favorites

As I have mentioned a lot in past posts, we had a lot of snow this past month. How did I deal with my cabin fever from being stuck in our apartment you wonder? Online shopping! In my defense, I have not purchased a single thing! I am holding out until I can make it into my favorite stores. But for now, looking at all of the gorgeous Spring clothing online has really helped my winter blues. I think it reminds me that there is an end in sight to the snow and cold. Here are some of my favorite things currently at Anthropologie:

Sailing Hobbyist Skirt-Navy
So preppy, I love it!
Kahiko Steps Mini
Looks like such a cool skirt but I definitely want to see it in person first. The design may be a little too much for me.
Amsterdam Dress
Love the cut of this dress. Just not so sure about the picture on the skirt?
Daily Gathering Dress
I have a shirt similar to this dress from last fall. It fits so well and is really flattering. I'm assuming the dress would be the same way. I just wish it came in more Spring-like colors.

Slate Stripes Shift
Looks like such an easy, comfortable dress to throw on everyday.
Snow Covered Fields Dress
Love this dress! So Spring! But I already have an Anthro dress very similar to this so this beauty is probably out of the question.

Photomontage Dress
Definitely would have to try this baby on. May be too dark for Spring/Summer?
Around The World Dress
I think this is my favorite Anthro dress which says a lot since I picked so many to post!
Sun Dot Dress
Love this dress too but definitely need to try it on. Not so sure how the wire cups up top will treat the girls.
Tutu Tank-Pink
Too cute! But is it too much ruffle?
Claret Cup ScoopneckBuds & Stripes Top
Love this shirt for a summer date night!

Neutral Density Tunic-Black
I can see this over my white jeans already.
Collected Leaves Tank-YellowSpotlights Tank

Shimmering Pin-Up Cardigan-Ivory
Would be perfect over any tanks/tees.

Laudations Jumper
So I'm considering giving the jumper trend a try this Summer. Since I'm somewhat hesitant, I will definitely be picky with the one I start with. This may be the one! Green IS my favorite color :)

Has anyone else checked out Anthropologie lately? What are your favorites? Any thoughts on these items?
-VABelle

A Day in Ancient Greece-Our Honeymoon Day 2

We are STILL dodging mountains of snow every time we leave our apartment, STILL freezing our butts off, and STILL experiencing horrible cases of cabin fever. So in my mind it's another perfect day for a Greece recap. Our second day in Athens consisted of a climb to the Acropolis where my inner nerd and her obsession with Greek Mythology came out. Poor VABeau, I think he will be happy to never hear about Greek Mythology or it's gods again. We ended the day with an amazing dinner a a classic Greek taverna and a taste of Athens's nightlife.The view of Athens from the Acropolis

The Parthenon. Taken while we made the hike to the top of the Acropolis.

Us after our hike to the top of the Acropolis :) Quite the feat after a night full of Greek wine and ouzo.VABeau and the Parthenon. Amazing that this ancient temple is still essentially standing.
Me and the Parthenon
The few ancient sculptures still left in the temple.
Incredible!
Possibly my favorite ruin in Athens. Porch of the Caryatids on The Erechtheion. Statues of women were used instead of columns on this building.
The sacred olive tree that Greek mythology claims Athena planted (I may have been a little obsessed with Greek mythology in elementary school but it definitely made Athens even more exciting)
Theatre of Dionysos
More views of Athens. Kallimarmaro Stadium is in the distance. It is where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896.
The remains of The Temple of Zeus
Stray animals fighting on the Acropolis. We were pretty entertained by all of the stray dogs and cats wandering around Athens.
We took a long nap after our hike to and from the Parthenon. When we woke up we were ready for a night out in Athens. We wandered around the city and ended up in this popular square-Plateia Syntagmatos. The impressive Parliament building lit up the entire square that was full of people all night!
The Greeks love their ice cream and it is everywhere in Athens! We stopped at a patisserie on our way to dinner and couldn't resist these adorable homemade nutty buddy cones.

Only on a honeymoon-post wedding dress-can you indulge in ice cream before meals and feel absolutely no guilt. We definitely ate our share of ice cream and sweets in Athens. Yum!

That's it for our time on the mainland. In the next post we will be heading to the Islands!
-VABelle