It’s 8:45 am on Saturday morning. As soon as I started writing, my son woke up, my husband and the dogs came trampling down the stairs, and my quiet dream ended. I finished up a walk, planted a few seeds in the garden, and now I have some time to myself to write while the dogs get groomed, and Kyle takes over with Bugs. With starting a new business and being a full-time mom, finding the time to blog has been super tough, but I’m going to keep on trying to hop on here as much as I can, even if it’s a few times a month, or a few times a week. I appreciate all of you who have given me grace during this time!

Today, I’m sharing some photos of our summer and pictures from our trip down to Florida! This was our first family trip together since becoming parents!
 
We are in the toddler phase, where we want to run all over the place and never sit still (unless we are eating or drinking), and it’s hard to keep finding things to do. He does not like to be in the playpen anymore, and I can’t blame him. Thank goodness it’s summer because we spend much of our time at the pool now. 

My mom joined us for a pool day a few weeks ago, and we kicked off the summer season with Chick-Fil-A.
The best thing about Saturdays in the summertime is the farmer’s markets. 

I met up with a friend and went to the Farmers Market in Matthews. It’s one of the best ones in the Charlotte area! They have all kinds of dessert vendors, fresh flowers, fresh produce, and coffee! I can’t wait to attend another one. 

I had an apricot bun from Bun Appetit and a honey wildflower oat milk latte from Good Cup Coffee Co. 
After popping into several antique stores, we headed to Collective Cafe for lunch. I had the oat milk cortado and a chicken Caesar salad. This spot had so many things on its menu! The food was delicious.

When I got home, I helped put Bugs to bed, and when he woke up, we headed to the pool and then VooDoo Wings for dinner. I had their chicken house salad, and Kyle ordered the spicy peanut butter and jelly wings. I was skeptical at first, but OMG, they were so good!

Right next to VooDoo Wings is an ice cream shop called “Whits.” We wanted a sweet treat, so we bought a peanut butter Whittie. OH MY GOODNESS! This was one of the best-tasting ice cream sandwiches I have ever had. It had the biggest chunks of Nutella in the ice cream, and the peanut butter cookie was soft and flaky. I give it a 10 out of 10!

I still love adding my favorite Amazon items to my storefront, and this singing bubble crab is one of the best bathtime toys I’ve purchased! He is obsessed with it, and bathtime has been a game-changer! It sings songs, spills out bubble bath, and he knows how to turn it on and off. They even make one that looks like a dinosaur. I may have to get that one, too!

I knew waking up and checking the garden would be my favorite part about these garden beds. It’s so exciting watching all of my seedlings turn into big beautiful plants. I can’t wait for all the juicy tomatoes, peppers, and squash! It’s lettuce season, and I’ve been getting all the fantastic lettuce from my garden this past week. 
 
I had a cookie order the day before heading out on our trip! The little Bug was playing fetch in the yard with Leo, and it’s so cute to watch this relationship blossom! Leo usually ignores him, but now that he’s up and walking, he finds him to be a little human he can play with.

Last Tuesday, we left at 4 am to head down to Florida. We wanted to go early, hoping we’d have a sleeper for the first few hours of the drive. He slept for about 45 minutes but then woke up. Luckily, he was pretty good in the car! We played with cups, straws, string, tape, and toys he had never seen. Toward the end, I put on Ms. Rachel, and she seemed to be a hit. 

Since Savannah was on our way, we stopped for a play in the park and breakfast! It has been a while since visiting Savannah, and it made me so happy to be there, even if it was just for a few hours. I need to plan a trip back soon. 
 
Taking a few breaks on the trip helped. Savannah was perfect since it was on the way and had so many cute parks to play or walk in.

After getting all the morning zoomies out at Forsyth Park, we stopped at Collins Quarter for breakfast. Collins Quarter has always been one of my favorite spots to eat in Savannah, but we always went to a different location. I loved that this one was right in the park, and the food was absolutely delicious. I have several Savannah travel guides on my blog if you plan to visit. 
I always order something I can share with Bugs for my meals. I had the avocado toast with eggs, and he helped me devour it. I also had an oat milk cortado, but my only mistake was not ordering one for the road!

This mini-stop has me excited about planning a trip here soon! My little explorer loved it.

We stopped at Mod Pizza for the little one’s dinner in Tampa. He was a big fan of the pesto pizza! We made it to Kyle’s mom’s house around 5 pm! We had dinner (she made my Italian chicken crockpot dish!), and we bathed bugs and put him to bed after a long walk around the neighborhood. We hadn’t visited her house in Florida in almost five years, so we were so excited to be back for the week!

The following day, we had coffee at Black and Gold Coffee! It’s one of my favorites. I ordered an oat milk latte, and it was delicious!

He loves waving at the trash trucks!

It turns out I love pickleball. I’m already a big tennis fan, but pickleball is going to be my new thing. We had so much fun playing, and I want to start playing here! It’s a lot easier than tennis, but the scoring and rules are complicated to catch on to since I’m used to how tennis goes. I’m sure I’ll catch on soon.

We took Bugs to the beach for the first time! He was a big fan, especially of the birds!

He would laugh so loud whenever a wave came to his feet.

Such a special moment

My little surfer baby!

Before heading back, we stopped at Sharky’s for a plate of nachos. 
Kyle’s mom wanted me to give her a sourdough lesson, so I brought my starter and taught her how to make bread and cinnamon rolls.

Pool day! 
 I could get used to a morning view like this! 
On Saturday morning, we headed to the Venice Farmer’s Market. We first started with a delicious almond croissant.

A Nutella beignet from Croissant & Co!
 We stopped at our favorite Mission Organic Coffee & Cafe for lunch! We come here every time we are in Florida. Bugs got a banana, strawberry, and spinach smoothie!  I had a chicken Caesar Salad wrap and a cold brew!

After Bug went for a nap, I went on a 5-mile bike ride with Kyle!

After playing a long game of pickleball in the morning, we had brunch at Plantation Country Club.

For dinner, we had Crisp and Green! This spot was so good. I had their chicken Caesar salad.

In the morning, I finished the sourdough lessons by teaching Kyle’s mom how to make the famous cinnamon rolls!
 These were the best ones I have ever made! I think making them earlier in the evening made a difference since I wake up so early. They had more time to rise at night. I will try that again today for tomorrow morning’s cinnamon rolls.  YUM!!!!! They were oozing with cinnamon goodness.  We were in a bit of a hurry, so we put the icing on while they were hot, and OMG, what a game-changer. Totally doing this tomorrow as well. It glazed over the top. 
On Memorial Day morning, we headed to the beach before it got too hot and crowded.
 This makes me want to move to the beach since he had so much fun digging in the sand and running around. 
My perfect little beach boy!
YUM!!! We brought our breakfast to the beach.  My entire world! 
After packing up, we grabbed one last dinner at Urban Taco. I had a chicken salad with rice, corn, guacamole, cheese, and tomatoes. Everything was so fresh and delicious.

We left Florida at 5 am and got a three-hour sleeper.
 We stopped in historic Avondale, Jacksonville, Florida, to grab breakfast and play at a park.  We ordered cheese grits, a bagel, an omelet, and coffees at Southern Grounds and Co! Everything was delicious. My son loves grits, so I have to order them whenever they are on the menu.  After breakfast, we headed down the street to play at the park. It’s wild to see him running around. It literally just happened overnight. We headed to Florida with him taking maybe five to ten steps, but now he can walk alone. It’s fun but a bit scary. We grabbed food for dinner at Fresh Market and then headed home! I was proud of how good he was in the car, making me want to do more trips with him in the future!

We jumped right back into our routine the following day. We did a morning walk and then stopped for coffee at the Greenway.

I made a delicious taco chicken dish in the crock pot for dinner. It’s so good over salad with all of the taco toppings!
 I had a pool and coffee date with Bugs the following morning. He tried to steal my oat milk latte from Humblecup, and that’s when I knew he was 100 % my son. The blonde hair throws me off sometimes, but the love for my coffee makes it make sense. 
And when we got tired of the pool, we headed home to swing! Between 7 am and noon, it’s a battle trying to find things to entertain him. He changes daily regarding interests, but he’s happiest when he’s not contained and can walk all over by himself. We plan to do a lot of park trips this week so he can get all his little energy out. 
All the fresh salad from my garden!
 My happy boy!!!!  On Friday morning, I made a Tuscan sourdough bread with herbs from my garden and a Tuscan herb olive oil from Venice Olive Oil Company. This herb olive oil tastes like the Pizza Hut breadstick seasoning. It is amazing! I am going to use it for dressings, marinades, and breads! 
I made a loaf for our house and one for my parents!
 We visited my mom yesterday morning, and Buggy had so much fun exploring their massive garden!
After Bug’s bedtime, we dove into the homemade cookie sandwiches and watched an episode of Love & Death! 

I hope you all have the best weekend. Thanks for stopping by to catch up! This is a big week for me and my new business adventure, so stay tuned on social media & my TikTok!

Questions for you!

1. If you have kids, when did you first travel with them?
2. What are some fun things to do with a 13-month-old? 
3. What are some excellent crockpot recipes? 

Life has been a whirlwind Between birthdays, visits from the fam, prepping for our upcoming family trip, starting a new business venture, and chasing after our energetic one-year-old. I promised myself I’d squeeze in some time to finally sit down and write this blog post while Bugs took his much-needed nap. I’ve had the layout ready to go for a good two weeks now, but every time I sit down to type, something pops up! I’ll be sharing EVERYTHING on that in early June! I am so excited, and it’s starting to really feel real now that just about everything is finalized. In the meantime, I wanted to share some snapshots from the past few weeks with you all.
Tux has still been enjoying his cozy days on the couch! He has a new stuffed animal he likes to take around the house with him. 
 
I’ve been trying to keep up with the Peloton and my walks as much as possible. It’s been tough with being busy and motherhood, but I’ve tried my best to fit in 15-20 minute rides on top of my daily walks. It’s crazy how much of an impact a 20-minute ride can have. I can burn more calories in 20 minutes of biking than in one hour of walking. 

We are in the phase of loving food one day and hating it the next. This is a fun game! I’ve learned that if I bake everything into a muffin, he’ll eat it. 
 One of my favorite parts of the day is our evening walk after bath time. I like to bring new sparkling water or kombucha to try while enjoying the stroll. I’m usually so exhausted by this time that I count the minutes until bedtime. This is when my brain turns to mush, and I start to wind down. I always tell myself I’ll finish my blogs or work once Bugs sleeps, but I almost always shower and go straight to bed. Trying to work, keep the house clean, feed myself and my family, and watch a one-year-old has been kicking my butt.
He’s at an age where it’s hard to keep him entertained for more than fifteen minutes. We hop from walks, the push car, walking around the garden, the swings, the water table, climbing up the stairs, his playpen, and whatever I can entertain him with. He isn’t the type of baby that wants to sit and watch a show. He’s now on the move! He wants to get into anything and everything, so I have to watch him like a hawk. I’m ordering the baby scenery table from Ikea this week, so if you have any fun ideas for a one-year-old and the sensory bins, let me know (anything he won’t put in his mouth!) 

A few weeks ago, I pulled together some DIY projects for his first birthday! 
 Flying!!! How is he so big already?

One project I finished last week was painting this dark blue entry table in a concrete color. I was never a fan of the blue, and even though I had 100 other things to do, I grabbed a paintbrush and started painting. It only took about an hour, which was good! I love that it isn’t such an eyesore when I’m standing in the kitchen anymore. 

If you missed the birthday party photos, check out the blog here! It was a blast  

On Saturday morning, I prepared all my sourdough starters for Sunday morning’s cinnamon roll sale. 
 Before it got too hot out that Saturday, we headed down to Fort Mill’s Strawberry Festival with our family visiting from Jersey.  The most delicious strawberries!  Bug’s and I split a grilled chicken wrap from one of the food trucks!  And I came for the coffee! I grabbed an oat milk cold brew from Knowledge Perk.  My little strawberry! My family!
 
After cooling down at the house and hanging out, we headed to The Fish Market in Baxter Village for dinner. Bug’s and I split the salmon salad with cheesy risotto.


On Sunday morning, our family headed out to meet some of their friends, and I woke up at 3:30 am to get started on Sunday’s cinnamon rolls! They sold out in one minute and twenty seconds! It was so fun delivering them. I’ve been keeping up with all of my baking ventures on TikTok! so follow me over there if you don’t already. I’m @taralynntiktoks
After dropping off the rolls and cleaning up the kitchen, I headed out on a walk with bugs, and then we swung in the backyard for a bit before nap time.

During his nap, I rode the Peloton, had coffee while writing thank you notes from the party, and baked some chocolate chip cookies to go with the notes!
When our family returned later that evening, we ate a great dinner at Naf Naf. They have the best salads, and Buggy loves the pita bread with chicken.
 
Breakfast on his picnic table he got for his birthday

It’s officially pool season here! It has been HOT, and I have a little swimmer here. He is obsessed with the pool, and I have a feeling we’ll be coming here all summer long. It’s great for keeping him entertained, and he sleeps like a rock on the nights we go. It’s nice that our neighborhood has a baby pool.
 
I’ve been trying to make big meals in bulk for him and me, but I’m running out of ideas. Let me know what some good toddler foods are! He’s just decided he hates pasta, no more eggs, cheese is slimy, and vegetables are bland. I will attempt a veggie chicken nugget this evening, so I’ll keep you posted! 
He eats better when we are not in the high chair. He thinks eating in the living room on his picnic table or on my lap is fun.

He loves his pop-it books!! Another day, another afternoon pool sesh. One fantastic mom hack is to freeze sliced oranges before heading to the pool, and it keeps him busy for about twenty minutes on the pool chair. He is a big fan of oranges! 
I brought a homemade multi-grain wrap with turkey, bacon, cheese, lettuce, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, avocado, and mayonnaise.

After I got Buggy out of the bath, I handed him off to Kyle to get my Peloton ride in. So far, I’ve been LOVING Bradley’s pop-punk classes. It brings me back to my high school days. Now that it’s getting super hot here in the mornings, I’ve pushed bedtime earlier; that way, he wakes up around 6:30 am so we can get in an hour’s walk with Leo before it gets too hot here. 
 
Grumples shined down to say hello on his two-year heavenly birthday. I can’t believe it’s been two years without him. I miss him every single day.
 
The morning stroll around the backyard is so peaceful. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in a few more years.
My garden beds are taking off!
 
My little helper.
We headed to Wilsons Garden Center to grab some carrot seeds, and he had so much fun watching the bees buzz around him.  Later that afternoon, we met with his best friend for a pool day.  The best time of the week, trash truck!!! We always have treats for our garbage, man! This time, we have him a bunch of peanut brittle   Blueberries from my garden!

We skipped our evening walk to the pool and playground for fun.

Once the Bug was asleep, I made a chicken and kale Caesar salad.

One of my girlfriends and I sat on the porch to chat and enjoy a delicious Betty Buzz.
 Another Saturday, another sourdough starter prep!  We headed to the first Fort Mill Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning! We came rolling in style.  But first? Iced Chai oat milk latte from Humble Cup!  We tried the breakfast sandwich from Flipped, and it was probably one of the best things I’ve ever had. It had a fried egg, cheese, and bacon wrapped in a flapjack with maple syrup. It was unbelievable!! And the pancake was so fluffy and buttery, and I’ll never be able to eat a regular pancake again without comparing them.
 On Saturday, I got to work on some brittle orders! I made my maple cinnamon pecan and peanut brittle!

I was up at 3 am on Sunday to finish all of the Mother’s Day cinnamon rolls!

This is my happy place! This is precisely what I wanted to be doing on Mother’s Day! I love to bake

SO GOOD!!
 I sold out in 20 minutes!  

I had 30 boxes of cinnamon rolls to deliver! Again, if you want to see more about this process, follow me on TikTok!
 

I finished by 10

For dinner, we had chicken enchiladas!

And some very yummy chocolate chip cookies with the help of my Bug!

My morning cuddles! I love him so much!

A playdate with his best friend!

We’ve been utilizing this water table! I put some carrot seeds and zinnias in the ground while he played!

My mom started a few more tomato plants and eggplants for me to add to some empty spots in the garden. I need to get some peppers to replace the strawberry plants this week, and then I’ll be all set! I cannot wait to see this thing grow!
 

He already loves digging in the dirt and touching the leaves!
 
Since Kyle was out of town last week, I took over Tux’s morning walks!

I got a cute new crockpot for Mother’s Day! I made a delicious Tuscan chicken and potato soup with it, which was to die for!
 
We were wiping out more hours at the pool! And there is nothing better than ending the week with THE BEST PIZZA IN FORT MILL!! King of Fire is fantastic. We did a family walk down to the neighborhood clubhouse, picked up our pizza, and sat by the fire since it was chilly. 

I hope you all have the best weekend! I can’t wait to share more about all the fun life changes here! 

But you know what? I’m so grateful for all the memories and experiences that my bug has brought into my life. Seeing him grow and learn has been one wild and fun journey. As much as it can be a little bittersweet watching him grow up so quickly, each new stage of growth brings its own set of joys and challenges. I’m excited to see what the future has in store for him. 

Sprouting to One First Birthday Theme

We celebrated Bug’s first birthday last Friday with some friends and family! It was an absolute blast, and he had so much fun. I organized a quick and easy DIY party to celebrate him, “Sprouting to One.” I thought it would be adorable to do a balloon arch on the trellis and dress him up in a veggie outfit. I wanted to go with the garden theme, and it’s super fitting for spring.

To add to the theme, my friend let me borrow her vintage highchair for some adorable photo ops, which turned out precious. I crafted a cute high chair garland out of material and felt veggies, and to top it off, I found this huge wooden carrot on sale for only $7 at Michaels in the Easter section. I flipped it around and painted it to match the theme perfectly. I know he won’t remember much of his first birthday, so I wanted to keep everything inexpensive.

Since we did the balloons early in the morning, they kept popping all day. I think I’ll splurge for a professional next time! But they did the trick and looked cute. 
He woke up from his nap 30 minutes before the party. He is always hungry when he wakes up, so I had a feeling he’d be going straight for the cake.

I put together a table of food for my friends and neighbors.

The SPROUTING TO ONE menu!

Vegetable tray with hummus, garlic hummus, and avocado.
Colorful Bean Chips with Salsa
Crackers
Fruit Platter
Fruit Snacks
Carrot Cake
Baby Smash Cake
Lemon Mint Blackberry Cucumber Water
Turkey Bacon Club Sandwiches on Homemade Sourdough Bread
Iced Carrot Sugar Cookies!
 I did some baking and preparation for the party the night before, including making the cookies, cakes, and sourdough dough. I made a healthier option for the smash cake recipe using bananas, carrots, oats, almond flour, coconut oil, peanut butter, cinnamon, and eggs. I topped it off with a frosting of coconut whipped cream and plain organic cream cheese. If you’re interested, I can even write a recipe blog for it! I will share my carrot cake recipe soon because it was to die for.

I love that Trader Joe’s has colorful veggies! It made the platter so pretty and colorful.

 
The sandwiches were made with my freshly baked sourdough bread, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, white cheddar cheese, bacon, maple turkey, mayonnaise, and guacamole.

I loved that the little smash cake was a replica of the big cake. I used the colorful carrots from Trader Joe’s to decorate the top and added some chopped pecans to the bottom.

The little carrot cookies turned out pretty cute! Those were easy to make the night before. I found that cookie cutter for fifty cents at Michaels in the Eater section.
 
 No one can convince me that Annie’s doesn’t make the BEST fruit snacks. 
I’ll be drinking infused water all summer long!
 

These cuties!
   
He was SO READY for that cake!

We sang happy birthday, and then he went to town on the cake.
 He was so cute. He kept laughing and clapping the entire time. He was a big fan of the frosting.   
He did try to pick it up!
We honestly had the best day, and it was so lovely that our friends and family were there to celebrate!

On my first birthday, my parents surprised me with a delicious carrot cake. I have a photo of me with cake smeared all over my face! I have a feeling my dad might have been the one who picked it out, as carrot cake happens to be his favorite. And you know what? Now it’s my favorite cake flavor too! Not only did it perfectly match the party’s theme, but it’s just hands down the most delicious cake flavor ever! Maybe it will be Buggy’s favorite when he’s older.

I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you for helping me navigate my first year as a mom! I’ve never felt more supported by any community before, and it’s amazing how a bunch of strangers you’ve never met can come together to offer words of encouragement and help you keep pushing forward. It just goes to show that it really does take a village. Thank you so much, guys!

Questions for you!

1. Do you know which flavor of cake you had on your first birthday?
2. What questions do you have for me about my first year of parenthood?
3. What is a fun first birthday theme idea you have?

We had a weekend filled with cold weather and rain! Thankfully, the skies cleared up just in time for Easter on Sunday. It was nice to see the sunshine in the morning. I threw the bread in the oven for our dinner later, cleaned up the house a little bit, and then set up all the goodies from the Easter Bunny. I had such a special time celebrating Easter as a mom this year. Last year, I was heavily pregnant and super uncomfortable, so it was a blessing to enjoy it fully this time!

Now that my bug is down for his nap, I’m going to share some photos from the past few days! 
I had a blast putting together my son’s Easter basket; he even got some extra gifts from our family. Let’s be honest; the gummies and trail mix were for Kyle and me.  We found him the chubbiest bunny! He loves it and keeps giving it hugs. He enjoyed crawling all around the grass, picking up the Easter eggs. I whipped up a delicious and healthy dinner last night – a garden salad with balsamic and oil dressing, along with some toasted sourdough slices, grilled chicken, and roasted carrots drizzled with a balsamic glaze. Yum!
 
I made Hop Water mocktails with lemon, cucumber, and strawberries.
I changed things up this Easter and decided to skip making a cake, which I usually do. Instead, we went for some delicious strawberries, vanilla pudding, and whipped cream. It was a tasty and refreshing dessert option! It is strawberry season here, and they are so juicy and flavorful.


After dinner, we headed out on a family walk, and then once Bugs went down for bed, we caught up on Love is Blind. I’m not sure how I feel about this season! 
Doing this recap backward, but oh well! 

Last weekend, some of my friends and I decided to put together a basket for a friend who has been going through it. I cooked up a batch of gluten-free creamy garlic pasta with sweet tomatoes and arugula, served with some garlic green beans on the side. And for a sweet finish, I baked my classic chocolate chip cookies, but with gluten-free flour. Hopefully, the care package brought some joy and comfort to our friend! I have to share with you all how gorgeous my tulips look this week! The tulips are still in full bloom, and I can’t believe how late some of them are still flowering this spring. 
I love these little mornings with him! I usually have about one second to take his photo before he tries to eat a rock. I put him in the outdoor playpen when I need to work outside. Today, I have a few trees I will plant, so I plan to put him out there with me! He loves being outside, making it a little easier to get things done.
 We have some strawberries! 

Now that it’s warmer in the mornings, we’ve been going for a walk once he wakes up. We do a quick mile and then come back for breakfast! 
We both love having banana egg pancakes with blueberries and peanut butter!  

 
I told you this recap was so out of order and backward. On the rainy Saturday, we had lunch at Chopt, then stopped by Sumac Coffee to grab oat milk cappuccinos and a carrot cake!  

Questions for you! 

1. Did you have a good Easter Sunday?
2. What is your favorite thing to make on Easter?
3. Did you do anything fun for Spring Break this year?

The sweet comments on my last recap blog meant so much to me! It’s so lovely to hop on here when I can, and I love that you guys have supported that. So many of my favorite bloggers have quit blogging recently, and started posting only to social media, and it makes me sad. I didn’t want to do the same, so I’m trying to keep up as much as possible.
 It was cold and rainy on St. Patrick’s Day. I picked up my mom early in the morning to grab a coffee and walk around the Bush N’ Vine farm before the weather got bad. Bugs is obsessed with chickens and any animal. He was making the funniest sounds trying to talk to the chickens.  If our HOA allowed it, I would totally get a chicken coop.
 
We also treated ourselves to a delicious green donut to celebrate the day. 
 We decided to stop and have lunch at the Garden Cafe before making it back before nap time. 

Bugs loves food, so it’s fun going places with him. He wants to eat anything and everything. I ordered chicken breast and cut it up for him, and he ate every bite. He also loved the mandarins. The other night, I made him a baby-friendly chicken salad with shredded chicken, chopped spinach, dillweed, lemon, black pepper, garlic, greek yogurt, tomatoes, and chopped onion. He was OBSESSED! I must try the same recipe using hardboiled eggs since he also loves those.
The Garden Cafe has the best coffee and dessert. I said no to the pie since Kyle wasn’t there to help me eat it, but I did not say no to their coffee! It was only my second cup for the day, and I needed it badly. 
 
Bugs decided he wasn’t going to nap that afternoon, so I put him in the skip hop during my 20-minute Peloton ride. He is obsessed with watching the petals and listening to music. He starts clapping and doing the squat baby dance. I usually have about 20 minutes until he’s over it, but it’s still enough time to fit in a great workout.

Later in the afternoon, I did some more seedlings with my leftover egg cartons. 
I made some delicious salads and mocktails on Friday night. I need to get that recipe up asap! There is nothing better than homemade restaurant-style ranch. 

We headed to the St. Patrick’s Day festival in Baxter Village on Saturday afternoon. It is a stunning time of year with all the blooming trees and warm weather! 
 I am just one big jungle gym to him. Does anyone else have a child who is always on the move and never stops wiggling?
I love him so much!
For dinner on Saturday night, I made a giant taco salad platter. It had all the best taco toppings (but I forgot the jalapenos) and a taco ranch. Let me know if you want me to post this recipe, too! I wish I had 1000+ hours in the day or the ability to stay up past 8 pm. 
Sometimes, I feel like making a cake. We enjoyed diving into this peachy pineberry almond buttercream cake. I’ll be sharing this recipe soon! It was so good. Cake is one of my favorite desserts. I’d choose it over anything! It was so pretty with the pineberries and peaches. I want to make it all summer long! 

The pups had their grooming appointment on Sunday, so we decided to walk the trail while they had their haircuts. We treated ourselves to warm soup and fresh pasta from Blend at the Riverwalk afterward. 

Sunday sourdough! Today, I have a whole wheat with nuts and seeds in the works for my dad. If it turns out delicious, I’ll post that recipe soon! But if you missed it, I finally have my sourdough bread recipe up! Seeing photos of your loaves and hearing your feedback made me so happy! 

I headed to a local coffee shop to finish the sourdough bread blog and complete a work project for a few hours. My mom has been so kind to come over a few hours a week to help watch Bugs while I do some work. 

My sweet neighbor gave Bugs this push car since her boys have grown out of it, and he is absolutely obsessed. It’s all he wants to do in the morning, day, and night. I push him around the backyard and down the sidewalk, and he loves it! 
 To make meals more manageable, I’ve been making food for him that we all eat. It’s too much to make separate meals, and it has me eating so much healthier. His favorite is no sodium organic tomato sauce, spaghetti squash, garlic powder, ground beef, zucchini, and a sprinkle of organic parmesan cheese. I made a giant batch for the family to eat for a few days. He gets SO MESSY since I let him eat with his fingers, but at least it’s before bathtime. 
 
One of his favorite breakfast foods is banana egg pancakes with oats, cinnamon, and peanut butter added. 
After a doctor’s appointment, my parents stopped by, and I made yummy steak salads. They had cast iron grilled steak, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, avocado, corn, everything but the bagel crackers, and creamy homemade ranch.
Tux is now a couch potato! I can’t believe he will jump up and cuddle so close. I never thought he’d get to this level! He keeps improving and improving!

I’m still on my Peloton kick! I’m entering week fifteen here soon and just as obsessed! I love hitting PRs and taking all the pop-punk classes available. A few mornings ago, I was so hungry after a ride that I had a plate of potatoes, apples, avocado, and a cheesy vegetable omelet. 

In the afternoon, when I get my crazy sweet tooth, I love having homemade healthy hot chocolate and rice cakes with peanut butter and honey. The hot chocolate has almond milk, cocoa powder, and honey.

Oats are another one of my favorite pre-workout or post-workout breakfasts. 

After doing dinner and bathtime with bugs, Kyle took over for bedtime so I could go to sunset yoga at the Greenway, and it was so beautiful and relaxing! 
I took my latest obsession, Hop Water, with me! This stuff is so good!!! The class was so relaxing, especially after being tackled all day by an eleven-month-old. 

After yoga, we did taco Tuesday at Taco Milino! 

Another rainy day called for yummy treats at The Goodlife Organic with my sweet boy! I had a kid’s smoothie and a breakfast bowl to share with him. He was also obsessed with the peanut butter energy ball. 
 
Book time before bed! He is in the opening and closing of the book phase right now. 

Homemade mini pancakes to put in the freezer for easy meals! These have whole wheat flour, eggs, cinnamon, almond milk, peanut butter, and banana. I microwave them for 20 seconds out of the freezer, and they are delicious! I usually serve them with fresh fruit and scrambled eggs. 

After an afternoon park date, we returned for some mommy and me lunch! We had eggs, black bean rice, and peaches! 

My tomatoes are ready for the transfer! 

Garden bug
We converted my office into a closet and changing room for bugs since it was easier to keep it all downstairs. This past weekend, I cleaned out the space and put everything back into his nursery. It feels so good to have my little office back!  Enjoying the final day of my tulips! 
Since the mornings have been nice lately, we’ve been taking early walks! I love catching the sunrise. 
 Of course, we must finish every walk with a cruise around the yard. When I stop, he starts turning the wheel and banging on the horn to get me to push him. It’s so funny.  So many tomato varieties! I cannot wait for the harvest this summer. 
Little beggar! 

I found some eggs in the tree next to my garden! They are so beautiful. We picked up Blend for dinner on Friday night to enjoy out on the patio. I bought a little folding chair for bugs, and it has a food tray. It’s super cute! I did the build-your-own salad with lettuce, chicken, cheese, onion, peppers, banana peppers, pesto, hummus, couscous, cucumber, mozzarella, and jalapeno ranch on the side. I am a dressing gal, but this salad had so much flavor I didn’t even need it. 

On Saturday, we headed to Flower Child for lunch. It was so good! I had the grilled chicken avocado caesar salad, and bugs had the kid’s plate with steak, mac and cheese, quinoa, and corn. He ate every single bite! We split the lemon pound cake muffin, and it was amazing! 

Sunday breakfast was blueberry oatmeal with peanut butter and cinnamon! I did my Peloton before catching up on some housework. 
Sunsets with my favorite A few days ago, we headed to the gardens with my mom to walk around and have lunch by the pond. I am in love with Glencairn this time of year! We picked up the common market chicken salad and turkey sandwich with soup. We also had the oat milk lattes from Two Scoops for a much-needed pick-me-up. By the way, the Pineapple Spindrift was INCREDIBLE! 


My sweet boy! He loved watching the bees in the azalea bushes. He thought their buzzing sound was so funny.
    It’s crazy how fast life goes. I’ve been visiting this park for the past nine years, and now I’m visiting this park with my son. He makes it so much more special. 
 
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon putting my seedlings into the garden, and I cannot wait to see them grow!

I hope you all have the best weekend! I will try my best to sneak away and get some recipe blogs up soon!

Questions for you!

1. Is there a place you have visited a lot in the past ten years?
2. What are you most excited about for April?
3. What is your favorite cake flavor?

We just returned from a chilly walk. Bugs is napping, I have my coffee, and the fireplace is turned on. It’s the perfect opportunity to put my workout and chores on the back burner and sit down to catch you all up on life. These recaps are more of a monthly thing these days, but at least we’re doing them! I’ve been having so much fun cooking new things, baking sourdough bread, hitting fitness goals, organizing, and spending all the time I can with my son. In a month and a half, he’ll be one. This year has flown by quickly; every minute with him is important to me. Time truly is a thief.

The first year as a mom is so tough, but it’s extremely rewarding. Not only are you taking care of a little human, but you must also take care of yourself. Even though I love my blog, it hasn’t been my top priority, and I’ve learned to hop on here intuitively. Mental health is important to me, especially now that I have someone else to look out for. So if I have time to hang out with my family or do something for myself while he naps, I usually do that instead. The blogs will be more frequent here soon since I have many recipes, adventures, garden blogs, and fitness progress to write about. I appreciate everyone who has stuck around to read, even if it’s not as frequent.

The good thing is that these recaps will be a lot longer since I’m catching you up on multiple weeks! I can’t promise they’ll be in order, but I’ll try my best! Let’s get into it.  During the colder February mornings, I had a lot of blueberry pie protein oatmeal.

It had oats, vanilla plant-based protein powder, cinnamon, water, almond milk, blueberries, banana, and peanut butter. It was the best mid-morning breakfast after spending time on the Peloton. (add me on Peleton! @hellotaralynn)

While my dad was over helping Kyle with the garden beds, I made a giant turkey meatloaf, roasted potatoes, and a tossed salad for the family.

Pizza is one of my favorite foods. We’ve been making a healthier supreme pizza with oat and flax lavash bread. The pizza has sauce, mozzarella, sausage, ham, pepperoni, red onion, and bell peppers, and baked in the oven at 400 degrees for about ten minutes. I could eat this every single night! I always have mine with a side salad. I always look forward to having this for dinner, and it’s all I can think about when I’m on the Peloton in the evening. If I miss my morning workout or can’t fit a ride in during naps, I hop on around 5 pm when Kyle gets home.

I’ve been trying to make more inflammatory relief juices. I make a big batch on Monday and drink it all week long. Since strengthening my leg muscles, I’ve had less inflammation and pain around my knees.

This juice has ginger, apple cider vinegar, celery, cucumber, pineapple, lemon, apple, turmeric, carrots, cayenne, and oranges. It’s really good!
 Every day we get closer and closer to garden season. I am eager to start planting, but I’m waiting until the end of March. I do have all of my seedlings ready to be transplanted.

I plan to put some spring bulbs into the ground this weekend. I want to add more dahlias around the backyard. I had to transplant my peonies this year, and I hope they do better in their new full sun spots. If you read my garden blog, you know what I’m talking about!

One of my favorite breakfast combos has been this lazy plate of over-medium eggs, avocado, everything but the bagel seasoning, and maple syrup! I sometimes add a slice of toasted sourdough bread. Maple syrup makes everything taste better.
 I love throwing together random salads when trying to avoid a grocery trip. It will be so nice to go outside and pick lettuce from the garden when the produce in the refrigerator is low. This salad had turkey, tomatoes, avocado, provolone, pepperoni, romaine, and balsamic glaze on top.

My seedlings needed to be thinned, and I’m already so proud of these little babies from seeds. It’s so easy to purchase plants at the nursery, but it’s even more rewarding to do them yourself by seed.

I made some bread for my parents, cinnamon raisin, jalapeno cheddar, and plain! I do plan to share my recipe this week.
 My little easter bunny. I had to keep him in the basket because he kept crawling away. He is always on the move!  Starbucks and Target? Yes, please!
 
He also loves a Trader Joe’s trip, but who doesn’t? He is obsessed with the puffed peanut snacks. I always let him have a few for his afternoon snack. Trader Joe’s has amazing produce options for his meals. He loves anything right now! I’m sure that will change soon.

We had our dirt delivered! I have the sweetest husband and must give him all the credit on this one. I showed him what I wanted, and he built everything in two weeks. It was my birthday gift, and he totally knocked it out of the park on this one. We need to get the trellis arbors up!

I met up with a friend in Waxhaw for coffee and lunch. We started at Virtuoso for a sweet treat and a chai oat latte. I had the oatmeal cookie with my latte, which was so delicious.

We walked over to Emmet’s Social Table for lunch. The weather was stunning, and we asked if we could sit outside.

I had fish tacos, kale salad, and we split shoestring fries and brussels sprouts. The food was amazing! We also have a location here in Fort Mill.

We walked around the town, and then I returned home after a grocery trip.

I love my Saturday mornings because I try to do a long one-hour ride on the Peloton and make a delicious breakfast after my shower. Kyle watches Bugs, so it gives me time to do things for myself for a few hours.
 This pot was screaming my name when I saw it at Homegoods. I wish they had another one, but I’m looking for a matching one!  My sweet boy loves watching the sunrise!
I’ve been eating much healthier because I try to make everything my son can eat. He LOVES broccoli, salmon, and potatoes! I mash his foods up and make them without the seasoning.

This is what most of my Saturday mornings look like! I’ve been sticking to my workouts for the past twelve weeks and have lost ten pounds so far. I gained a lot during my pregnancy, and I felt terrible about myself postpartum because my body wasn’t “bouncing back,” so I’ve been working my butt off this past year, and I am feeling SO SO SO much better! I’m feeling stronger than before having a baby, and I’m so grateful to Peloton for giving me a new healthy lifestyle. Being healthy mentally and physically makes me a better mom.
 I saw these frozen yogurt bites on Tiktok and had to try them!  Bugs is obsessed! I only give him a few at a time, so they don’t melt. It gets messy, but it’s so worth it!
 
Pizza night and cuddles with Tux. It’s crazy that he’s now lying on our couch. His progress is rewarding, and I can’t wait to see what he does next! While Kyle was out of town a few weekends ago, I took him on his morning walks, and he did well with me!

Sunrises! Gosh, I can’t wait until these boxes are filled with produce! I’m constantly daydreaming!
Hiking with Leo and Bugs! We have managed to fit in our 3-mile walk each day. Kyle and I have also been walking after bathtime and before bedtime, which I think helps him wind down before bed.

Yummy turkey sandwiches for lunch with my sourdough bread! Kyle and I love splitting a sandwich and salad for weekend lunch. The sandwich has avocado, mayo, American cheese, bacon, turkey, bell pepper, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, cucumber, and black pepper.
I sent him down to his trip with a tray of copycat Crumbl cookies! The Fresh Cooky recipe is to die for!
 
Walk with Tux! He’s afraid of the stroller, so I have to wear Bugs when we go.
 All of the tulips are up in my yard! Bugs love them. He tries to rip the tops off of them! Just checking out the dirt! I bought him a garden toy set from Amazon for him to play with this summer.  We had to go check out the peach trees together while on a date with Grandma! It’s crazy that everything is green and in bloom. Some of our trees have all of their leaves on them already.

Lucky to be his mama!
 He LOVES watching the ducks!  We stopped for dinner at Ilios in Baxter village. Bugs had his yogurt, rice, and some chicken. He does well sitting in the highchair with his food.

My mom stayed with us while Kyle was out of town, and we headed out on morning walks and evening walks!
 The weather was perfect, so we decided to head to Waxhaw for the morning.  Before exploring the shops, we had matcha lattes and a fruit tart at Virtuoso Coffee shop.   
Little fingers always reaching!

And he’s always happy while swinging! We have one for him in the backyard now.
 When we got home, I made a delicious vegetable and sausage quiche with a sourdough crust. Let me know if you want this recipe! It was so easy to make and even better as leftovers.

After bathtime, we headed out on a night walk. He’s cruising along the furniture, so it’s time to babyproof everything! Morning walk with Tux! One of his favorite breakfasts is banana and egg pancakes. I cut them into tiny pieces for him to feed himself, and he loves them!

I spent all day Sunday cleaning the house! It felt good to get everything back in its place.
 My little Mozart!  He’s OBSESSED with the piano and has been since he was little. I hope he has an interest in playing one day. 
Sourdough Saturday!
 When it’s 85 degrees, we have a pool day!

Kombucha for me! I need to jump on the homemade kombucha train since I have it every day. I love it.
 I had a salad for dinner, and he had cottage cheese, avocado, and rotisserie chicken.  Breakfast before a trail walk! I love my sourdough bread toasted with butter, avocado, cottage cheese, egg, and everything but the bagel seasoning on top. 
We did coffee at Grapevine and a five-mile walk on the Riverwalk trail.
 More seedlings! I love reusing egg cartons for my seeds.
 My blueberry and raspberry bushes are starting to bud. I’m so happy about fresh blueberries this year. I’m nervous about planting these in the ground, but let me know if you have any experience with planting berries.

On Saturday, Kyle and I treated ourselves to Inizio pizza and salad. It’s one of my favorites.

While we were walking the neighborhood, one of our neighbors had the CUTEST set up to wish their pup a happy birthday. It had balloons and doggy party favors for all the dogs in the neighborhood. I need to do this too! It’s so cute, and I love when people love their dogs this much. Only a few more weeks of these tulips! After they all die, I’ll replace them with zinnias around the tree.  

Thanks for stopping by to read!

Questions for you!

1. Do you have any Spring flowers coming up?
2. Have you ever tried Crumbl cookies?
3. What is your favorite way to move your body?

It has felt like Spring here! Sunny weather puts me in the best mood, and I love getting outside to enjoy it. I spent all yesterday cleaning out the back garden beds and working on the vegetable garden project. We are finally digging up the area to add the rocks, stepping stones, and edging this weekend. I love seeing it all come together. We ordered stunning light stone pebbles that will arrive tomorrow, and I’m so excited. I can’t wait to share photos once it’s all finished.

I have still been on my Peloton kick, and each time I ride, I get better and better outputs or PR mileage. I’m so proud of myself for finally sticking with it. I know I’ve said this before, but having a good workout available in my home where I don’t have to go anywhere, makes it so much more realistic for me to stick to. I love the instructors, and since there are new classes each day, I feel like they talk to you about things in real time. I have caught the Peloton bug, and I’m already looking forward to my ride later. A few nights ago, I hit my first ten miles in 30 minutes, and my output was the highest for a 30-minute class! I don’t try to PR every time. Otherwise, I would burn myself out, but when it does happen, I get so excited.
I realized I didn’t take a lot of food pictures the past few weeks, but that is because most of my meals have consisted of eggs, avocado, toast, or whatever is easiest to make quickly. I need another trip to Trader Joe’s soon to step up my meal game. 

I finally tried the TikTok viral 2-ingredient bagels. I used all-purpose gluten-free flour with Greek yogurt (but also added baking powder & sea salt), and they were surprisingly good. You have to slice and toast them to get them to taste more like a bagel, but I was pleasantly surprised. I flavored a few with cinnamon sugar, everything but the bagel, and blueberry.

If you have a little crawler, I can’t recommend this crab toy enough! It plays a thrilling song while crawling fast everywhere, and Bugs is OBSESSED. He eventually does catch the crab, and he’ll hold it with one hand while its little legs are kicking around. It’s the funniest thing ever!
 I finally started doing some indoor seeds. There are a lot of seeds I’ll have to wait to plant into the beds directly or later in the season, but I got a headstart on a few. It’s wild to see them all sprouting up, and it will be so rewarding this summer, knowing most of my vegetables came from seeds. I bought so many varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce.  Good weather means walks to the park! This is his favorite thing to do, and mine!

My tulips and hyacinths are thriving with this weather! In a few weeks, they’ll be blooming!
 One thing I started doing was filling a bag with water and pees and taping it to the high chair. It keeps Bugs entertained for about thirty minutes, which gives me time to fold laundry or clean up the kitchen. He loves smashing the pees or pinching them to see if he can pick them up.

One of my good friends/neighbor has a little boy a few months younger than Bugs, and it’s so cute seeing them together. Crazy to think they’ll be running around this park later this year. Time is going by way too fast. 
 He’s in the I’m going to jump out of your arms, wiggle worm, what can I climb on, how can I flop myself stage. He’s so strong, and it makes me worried about when he can start walking. He loves the thrill. 

We’ve been eating this three-ingredient dessert almost every night. We add chocolate to peanuts and top them with sea salt! And we keep them in the freezer. It’s so good! 
 Early morning sourdough making! I do this a few times weekly, and it’s my absolute favorite. I love when the house smells like a bakery, and scoring the loaves is therapeutic. More park walks! It was 75 degrees a few days ago.  Leo loves joining us! He’s such a good boy. 
Because the weather has been so warm here, and I’ve been craving all the salads! 

I made my oatmeal cream pies with pink frosting and sprinkles for Valentine’s Day. 

The best sunsets. I love sitting outside after bathtime with kombucha and my family! 

And if you missed it, we now have a couch dog! Tux can’t wait to fly up onto the couch. It’s so cute watching him cuddle up, and it makes me so happy knowing he’s content and comfortable. It took a few times to teach him to get up there, but now he’s unstoppable. 
 
He has furry babysitters.
 Last Thursday, I went on a Galentine’s date night with some of my neighbors. Right now, I’m still in that awkward postpartum stage where nothing fits from pre-baby or after-baby. I throw on whatever I can find and pray it works, so please don’t judge my outfits for the next few months lol I refuse to buy clothing right now, and if I’m not going anywhere that requires pants, I’m in my leggings all day.

We headed uptown to La Belle Helene. I’ve been there for brunch before, but never dinner. I love the glamorous aesthetic of this restaurant, and it was the perfect place for a Galentine’s day dinner. 
I started the evening with a Supernova mocktail. It had house lemonade, butterfly pea tea, elderflower, and lavender. The cocktail version of this drink comes with gin. I was in love with the sour lemon and fruity flavors. I want to make this at home! 
For my hors d’oeuvres, I had the ratatouille (totally threw me off that it was cold, not sure I’m a fan) and the arugula salade, which was amazing! The salad had the most delicious champagne vinaigrette, local chevre, and radishes. It put me on an arugua kick this past week.  

We also split the Pommes Frites with garlic aioli. The frites went on the top five BEST FRIES I’ve ever had. You do not want to miss out on these.

For my entree, I ordered the boeuf bourguignon. I typically would go with a salmon, but when I saw it being delivered to another table, I just had to have it. It had braised short ribs (PERFECTLY cooked), red wine, pearl onions, mushrooms, and marble potatoes. 

The waitress convinced me to give the mushrooms a chance. I did, and still, absolutely despise them. I’m proud of myself for putting on my big girl pants and trying them, but they are still a NO; aside from the mushrooms, the meal was incredible!
 You don’t treat yourself to a meal like that and then skip out on dessert, especially at a French restaurant. I ordered the Creme Brulee Au Miel. It had a honey chantilly, honeycomb, raspberry, and vanilla bean. ummmmm AMAZING. YUM. 10/10! It was so light, refreshing, and not overly sweet. This was such an incredible meal and a wonderful experience.

In the morning, I needed to stop at Costco, but since we had some time to kill before it opened, Bugs and I headed to Humblecup for the most delicious oat milk cappucinno. 
 I love my little coffee date! It’s important to start them young. My little seedlings after four days. I am so so so excited. I’ll do an updated photo of them on Instagram today. They are THRIVING right now. I have them in our front music/reading room where the sun hits them. 

My little wiggle worm. I can’t wait until he’s at the age where he can get his little stationary bike and cycle next to me. 

Trader Joe’s salmon in the air fryer with baby potatoes! This is such a quick dinner, and I need to run to Trader Joe’s to go get more! 
The hyacinths are all up!

Same breakfast, different day.

Bugs is at the stage where he scream laughs, and it’s the best!

I made 500 + Valentine’s day brownies on Superbowl Sunday for Kyle’s work. I never want to look at a brownie ever again! lol But it was fun! 
That evening, we made Philly cheesesteaks and watched the game! It was a sad loss for the Eagles, but such a great season. I embarrassingly fell asleep on the couch ten minutes into the game. 

I do have to brag about these delicious pretzels my friend, Samantha, dropped up before the game. Those are some Auntie Anne level pretzels. 
I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE BLOOMING! I also have them all coming up in my larger garden bed. We have rain all day today, so they’ll love it. 

Healthy chocolate chip cookies! 

I feel like my rides during the evening are so much better, which makes no sense since I’m EXHAUSTED at the end of the day. Maybe it’s because my body has fuel in it, and I need a good release after momming all day long.
 The best post-ride treat! We have blossoms on the trees! I love that spring comes so early in the south. Valentine’s day loaves! I’m still absolutely obsessed with my bread-making. For Valentine’s Day, I made the most delicious arugula salad. I’m putting this recipe up this weekend! It’s so easy to make, and I cannot stop eating it. We also had chicken cordon bleu and roasted mini potatoes. We ended our Valentine’s Day with a chocolate caramel cheesecake. I’m not a big cheesecake gal, but this one was very good! Anything from the Publix Bakery is amazing. 

Questions for you!

1. Do you celebrate Galentines Day each year?
2. Are you getting spring temps?
3. Have you ever tried a viral TikTok recipe?