Archives for July 2018

Bumpdate…Pregnancy So Far {25 Weeks}

July 12, 2018 by megan Leave a Comment

I always thought that with my first pregnancy, I would do all the right mom things to document it. But with the busy schedule we keep and being in our first year of small business ownership, I have been so remiss in documenting and sharing the milestones of this 9 month journey! So here I am, at 25 weeks, sharing my FIRST pregnancy update.

If you missed the memo, we are, in fact, expecting our first little one! We are so excited about starting this new chapter of life! I wanted to share a little Q&A to keep YOU in the know and keep ME from forgetting the details!

Q: Boy or Girl?
A: It’s a little boy!

Q: What’s your due date?
A: He is due on October 25. We are excited for our little Fall baby,

Q: How did you find out you were expecting?
A: We were open to getting pregnant sometime in 2018, and in early February, I started having my suspicions that something just felt off. As soon as I could, I snuck to Kroger and picked up a pregnancy test. With Jeremy sitting in the living room (unsuspecting), I shut the bathroom door and took the test. Then I stared at it for a few minutes because the second line was SO faint and I truly didn’t know if it was positive or not! Rather than the big announcement I was hoping to make, I came out of the bathroom and stuck the test in his face and said, “What in the world does this mean?!” We both stared at it for another few minutes and debated whether I was pregnant or not! (I know now that ANY second line, no matter how faint, means you’re pregnant. But I’m new at this!)

We were both busy the next day, so we waited two days and took another, more reliable brand test. This time there was no denying it! We were having a baby!

Q: How have you been feeling?
A: Overall, I’m so grateful for how well I have felt during this pregnancy. My first trimester, I never threw up or had significant nausea, but I was just SO tired and had a very long list of food aversions. Hardly anything sounded good; eating was very frustrating. I definitely didn’t feel like my normal self, but I count my blessings that I wasn’t really ill either.

As soon as I hit 14 weeks, I felt like I became my normal self again! I got my energy back, my appetite back, and my moods leveled out. Thank goodness! Now I’m just struggling with a few aches and pains, and I’m mentally struggling to embrace my changing figure. Otherwise, things are going well.

Q: Food cravings?
A: My taste buds were very limited in the first trimester. I had a couple of random cravings that came and went. But overall, I ate a lot of cereal, fruit, and bland carbs. I kept saying I felt like I had to “eat like a kid to grow a kid” because I just wanted things like frozen chicken nuggets and homemade French fries. Bland, basic, boring. My biggest aversions were roasted veggies (one of my usual staples) and ground turkey. Before I got pregnant, I thought I would eat SO healthy as a pregnant woman, but, although I didn’t eat a lot of junk, my first trimester was all about just getting through it. A few of my strongest cravings were: clementine oranges, cinnamon Chex, Kolaches (all my Texas people know), red Thai curry, and sushi. I wanted ALL the sushi (even though I had to stick to rolls with cooked fish).

I remember craving sushi SO badly for about a week and almost nothing else in the world sounded good. I went to Whole Foods for lunch and picked up a basic California roll (pregnancy safe!) and literally cried sitting there eating the sushi because I was so happy something actually tasted good. Then, a couple of nights later, Jeremy and I had a date night and the only things I could stomach were sushi and Jeni’s Ice Cream. I kept crying telling him how thankful I was that he took me to eat something that tasted good. Oh pregnancy hormones!

At another point (more recently), Jeremy was out of town on a work trip and I was in a state of despair because the idea of cooking sounded awful and once again the ONLY thing that sounded good was Thai Chicken Curry. He placed an order on UberEats (from hundreds of miles away), and there was curry on my doorstep in 20 minutes. That sweet man takes good care of me.

Now that things have leveled out, I am at a point that anything and everything tastes good. Jeremy says I’m less picky now than I ever have been in my life. A few of my favorite things in pregnancy have been:
– Ice cold beverages–especially fruity beverages. Give me all the fresh squeezed juice, ice water, flavored sparkling water, cranberry limeades, kombucha, and unsweetened ice tea!
– Cold fruit and veggies (basically I like my food to be cold. #pregnantinthesummer). I can’t get enough of berries, peaches, watermelon, cherries, and clementine oranges! I’m also loving cold salads and veggie/fruit juices. I could go for a beet/cucumber/apple/lemon/ginger combo right about now.
– Cereal. Basically, this is the story of my whole life. But I love me some cereal. Nothing too sweet or sugary. Just something with a good crunch!
– Ice cream. Have I mentioned cold things? Jeni’s Ice Cream is a little taste of heaven.
– Pickles. So stereotypical! But so delicious!
– Baked goods. I could always go for a fresh baked croissant or donut right about now!
– Asian food. Once again, Thai food and sushi are comfort food for me always. But ESPECIALLY right now.

Q: Any other weird symptoms?
A: I’m having aches and pains that I’ve never had before. But on a positive note, I laugh a lot more these days 🙂 For whatever reason, I have been more giggly than ever. Jeremy says he hopes I stay this jolly once the baby comes.

Q: Do you love being pregnant?
A: I love this baby and I am so excited about our little family, but I don’t love being pregnant. Watching my body change has been hard for me. I’m happy to be experiencing this miracle, but I will be very glad when I’m not pregnant anymore.

Q: How is Jeremy feeling about everything?
A; It took him by surprise when we found out I was pregnant, and it took him several weeks to get over the shock.. But it has been so fun to watch him grow more and more excited with time. He is stoked to have a little boy to do life with, and I can’t WAIT to watch him become a father. He has been incredibly sweet with me through all of pregnancy and all of my weird moments and insecure moments. Whenever I haven’t felt the baby move in a bit, I can usually guarantee that if Daddy puts his hand on my belly, baby will move around because he knows his hero is nearby. Jeremy truly will be such a wonderful dad. We are both nervous for the changes ahead, but we are mostly ready for whatever this chapter holds.

Q: Have you picked a name?
A: His name is Judah Guyton Quarles. Guyton is a family name, and it is Jeremy’s middle name and Jeremy’s dad’s middle name. Also, this baby comes from a long line of Quarles men with names that start with the letter “J”. So this is another JGQ to keep the line going.

We had Judah on our list for a while and were keeping it on a list with a few others,, but once we found out it was a boy, it didn’t take long for us to agree wholeheartedly that his name would be Judah. He is our little lion cub.

Q: Are you taking a baby moon or doing anything else to celebrate?
A: We are so grateful to have traveled so much and made so many memories in our first 6 years of marriage as just the two of us. We didn’t feel like a baby moon was necessary! But we still decided to take advantage of one final trip before a little one joins the party. Our trip to Seattle was the perfect last hurrah! We might try to take a couple of other weekend getaways between now
and go-time as well.

Q: How is the nursery coming along?
A: This is probably the question I get the most! The truth is, the “nursery” is still a chaotic storage room. I have purchased approximately zero things for the room and done approximately zero projects. Our biggest priority is to get our basement remodeled before baby comes (so family has a place to stay when they come visit!). Once we get that under control, we can start thinking about the nursery! But I have a FULL plan in my head, so once I have the space cleared, the nursery won’t take long 🙂

Now for a few photos of this pregnancy journey so far!

Our little announcement!

I’ve been really inconsistent with the “official” bump pics, but I’ve taken a few!

We had such a fun gender reveal on Jeremy’s birthday. It was such a joy to celebrate a little BOY with so many friends! We ordered a golf ball on Etsy that exploded with blue powder when Jeremy took a swing!

Baby had a great trip to Seattle!

Our pets don’t know what’s about to hit them!

I’m not making any promises, but I will certainly aim to do a better job at keeping you in the loop for the next 15 weeks or so as baby grows!

Quarles in Seattle: Trip Recap and Favorite Spots

July 7, 2018 by megan Leave a Comment

We just got back from a lovely trip to Seattle, Washington. The trip was a combination of work, play, and celebration, and it was just what we needed! Jeremy has been traveling for work almost non-stop for over a month, and we really needed some time together. We celebrated our six-year wedding anniversary (post about that here), and also called this a bit of a “baby moon” before little baby Quarles makes his appearance. The cooler temps and beautiful scenery of the Pacific Northwest greeted us like a welcome Summertime friend. We didn’t miss the 100+ heat index of Nashville one bit and layered our sweaters and jackets with pleasure.

I don’t know about you, but I always enjoy reading other people’s travel experiences and travel guides! We are certainly not experts on Seattle, but we did our research in choosing things to see and places to eat, so I thought I would share some of our favorites from the trip!

Where We Stayed

The first four nights of our trip, we stayed just north of town in a little neighborhood called North Beach (just north of charming Ballard). We stayed in this Airbnb. It was small but charming, and it had everything we needed. We liked staying a little outside of the city and it made for an easy drive downtown and also North to the suburbs where I visited some clients (I’ll share more about that later!)

On our final night, we stayed in a beautiful boutique hotel in Downtown Seattle called the Hotel Vintage. One night in the city was just perfect for a walk to Pike’s Place, a delicious Sushi dinner, and a morning walk for some great coffee. We really lived up our stay in a large room at a nice hotel by heading back to the room by 6pm, donning our robes, and watching Netflix for the rest of the night.

Our Favorite Neighborhood

We saw a lot of different Seattle neighborhoods, and we both agree that we were the most charmed by Ballard. The restaurants and shops that line NW Ballard Way are absolutely precious! We agreed that we could have tried a new restaurant every day for a month and not run out of places that we wanted to try!

We spent a wonderful date night eating Thai food and gelato, shopping at Buffalo Exchange, and roaming through one of the best furniture consignment shops I’ve ever seen! Then we went back to Ballard the next morning for the Sunday Farmer’s Market and a long shopping trip at the Filson store (one of Jeremy’s favorite brands). We then went BACK to Ballard a third time just to enjoy the streets in the quiet early morning hours.

Restaurants We Loved

We ate at so many wonderful restaurants on the trip! Here were a few of our favorites:

General Porpoise Donuts – I had been itching to try these donuts since seeing them on other blogs, and they didn’t disappoint! The Chai Latte was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy, and their coffee selection was really great. They had a good bean selection and a good pouroverl! (If a coffee shop doesn’t offer a pour over, we tend to write it off as second tier ;-)) The vibes are also great in this spot!
Oddfellows Cafe – We ate brunch here, and the baked eggs were some of the best eggs I’ve ever had! The whole atmosphere was perfect for brunch, and the smell of freshly baked bread and coffee makes the whole experience delightful.
Pestle Rock – Our Airbnb host recommended this Thai restaurant in Ballard. The Kao Soi was easily the best Curry dish I’ve ever tasted (and Curry is one of my favorite foods ever!) The vibes were great and the menu was very authentic (from what I understand). No American-ized Pad Thai here!
Anchorhead Coffee – We are particular about our coffee shops (we actually tried one in Ballard which shall remain nameless and were so disappointed that we tossed the coffee within minutes and found another place), and Anchorhead is another that we would definitely visit again! Also, we had their breakfast sandwich and the Quaffle (cinnamon roll croissant that has been pressed into a waffle) and oh my gosh–my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
Japonessa – This was a great place for delicious sushi! It’s just a couple blocks from Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. I ate so much that Jeremy practically had to roll me back to the hotel. I wish I had gotten photos; it was delicious! And we visited at Happy Hour (they have a great Happy Hour menu), so we were able to get four fancy sushi rolls for less than $50!
Preserve and Gather – Yet ANOTHER coffee shop north of town that made the list for good vibes, a great breakfast sandwich, and decent coffee.

A Beautiful Day Trip

On the day of our Anniversary, we decided to make the day extra special and booked a Whale Watching Cruise through the San Juan Islands. I highly recommend the experience! We booked the trip through Island Adventures and left out of Anacortes. It was only an hour-and-a-half drive up from our Airbnb. We made the trip a little more scenic by routing through the waterfront town of La Conner and then stopping off at Deception Pass State Park for a walk across the Deception Pass Bridge and some beautiful views.

The Whale Watching trip was such a fun adventure doing something we hadn’t done before! We were on a beautiful boat for four full hours. We saw a humpback whale, at least seven orca whales, and a host of other beautiful wildlife. We ate a picnic on the boat as we watched the sun coming down over the water. After several months of a busy schedule and barely any time for each other, the quality time together looking out over the ocean was so refreshing.

There are SO many beautiful places to visit around Seattle (we didn’t even scratch the surface of places I wanted to see), and I highly recommend the San Juan Islands being on the top of your list.

A Few Other Highlights

Mariner’s Game – even though we weren’t particular fans of either team playing that night (Go Braves), the energy in the stadium was great! And this pregnant girl was thrilled by the garlic fries from Kidd Valley.
Walks along the Puget Sound. I just don’t get tired of beautiful water views. We stayed a block from beach access, and I absolutely loved taking walks along the sound.
Kerry Park. Every guidebook will probably mention Kerry Park. It’s a great, easy stop for some beautiful photos of downtown Seattle. And the Queen Anne district is just so incredibly charming!
Filson Factory Store. If you like outdoorsy clothes, the Filson Factory downtown has a gorgeous flagship store. Jeremy loves Filson clothing, and I was in heaven admiring the design of the space. It’s such a beautifully appointed retail location!
Snoqualmie Falls. We didn’t make it out there on this trip, but previous times in Seattle have shown me what a gorgeous spot this is for a day drive! While you’re out that direction, take a hike at Rattlesnake Ridge!

6 Years of Marriage…

July 2, 2018 by megan Leave a Comment

Six years. Today marks six years since the day we said “I do.” This anniversary feels especially significant. Not because there is anything particularly singular about six times round the sun, but because it’s the last anniversary we will celebrate before we add a baby to the mix. Six years down, and less than four months to go before we go from just the two of us to a family of three.

People say that it’s hard to remember life before kids once you have them, and I’m sure that this little one (and any others that follow) will change our lives in unrecognizable ways. But I don’t ever want to forget what these six years as two young love birds have been like. We get to parent this kid full-time for the next eighteen years or so, but Jeremy and I will keep hanging out for the rest of our lives. I hope and pray that we never forget each other as our first loves and first priorities, even when chubby little hands and feet are grasping for our attention and running around our house all day long.

We started dating at 18 and got married when we were barely 22, so we truly had no idea what adulthood meant or who we would become. We have both grown up a lot in these years together, and it’s been the sweetest privilege to grow up side-by-side. That shaggy-haired, slightly awkward college freshman who told me I was “the kind of girl he could see himself marrying someday” became a reach-for-the-stars, over-the-fence, World Series kind of husband (movie reference, anyone?).

In these years of marriage, we have truly made the most of our time. We have learned to cook, learned to eat and live healthy, learned to renovate houses, learned to make big decisions, and learned to understand each other better. We have taken seven international trips side-by-side, played and sang countless worship sets and shows together, released two musical albums, bought two houses, honed in our respective career paths, tried new jobs and ended others, and started a business together that has become what I hope will be a lifelong passion.

Jeremy has traveled for work (as a sound engineer and tour manager in the music industry) probably close to 900 days in our short marriage. He has seen every corner of the continental U.S., slept countless nights in tour bus bunks, and made friends and memories to last a lifetime. Those days that I’ve spent at home apart from him have defined me in many ways, too. I have learned to rely on the Lord, to treasure my husband’s presence when he is around, to be independent when I need to be, and to figure out who I am and who I want to become.

We were discussing the other day how much we really love to do things as a team, and how much we have in common. Our personalities are very different (I never stop talking and he usually does), but we genuinely love to do almost everything together. We have similar goals, similar priorities, similar taste in food, similar travel habits, and similar hobbies. We dream big dreams, and we challenge each other to reach those dreams. I may not play golf or care about football, and he may have very little interest in historical dramas or dill pickles, but in the major things in life, we usually see eye-to-eye.

This past year has been a big one for us in terms of life decisions, career changes, and a whole lot of “growing up.” In the midst of a lot of anxiety and stress (especially on my end), I have precious memories of difficult nights spent both on our knees together praying big, desperate prayers. We have stepped into a life of both being self-employed, which means that we have had tangible reminders that we have to trust God more than ever for financial provision for our family. We have had to be intentional as a team to trust the Lord with our present and our future. God has not disappointed, and seeing my husband lead our family on difficult days is something I hope to never take for granted.

If you’ve read this far on this very personal, very sappy post, then thank you. I write these things mostly so that I don’t forget. I don’t want to forget what a precious man God has given me or what a beautiful time this “just us” season has been as we step into the next phase of life with anxious anticipation. Little Baby Quarles, we can’t wait to welcome you. This life is a good one.

I love you forever, Jeremy Guyton Quarles.