The other morning I awoke to the sound of pouring rain on a summer Saturday. It was so soothing to my soul. I am in my third trimester of pregnancy, so I knew as soon as the summer heat hit, I would have a harder time with it. But this year has been brutal – temperatures close to 100 degrees F. It is something I expect in July and August in Virginia, but the heat and humidity came around more quickly in June and decided to stick around. Having a couple of cooler, rainy days this past week was a nice reprieve.
6:30am
Having a slow, mindful morning while it rained with no where to be was bliss. My routine in the early hours of the day entails drinking coffee, journaling, reading, doing my gua sha face tool, and an ice mask. I am typically reading two books at the same time – a nonfiction and fiction – and these days it is Awe by Dacher Keltner and The Last House Guest by Miranda Morgan.
8:30am
Pancakes are usually a Saturday breakfast staple, and I have been loving gluten-free blueberry pancakes lately. I follow my pregnancy pancake recipe, and add blueberries to the batter right before cooking. Berries have been one of my biggest pregnancy cravings the second time around!
9:00am
I took some time to work on and finish my beet smoothie article. Even over the weekend, I love to nourish my creativity and write for a bit. Taking care of a toddler means it happens in fits and starts, but even if I write for ten minutes, I am always so glad I did. I am most productive between the hours of 8am and 12pm, so if I can take advantage of that writing window and get in the flow, it always makes for a better day.
10:30am
Ever since discovering a particular Richmond Farmers Market on Saturday, I have been a regular attendee. They have my favorite sourdough bread from RVA Bakehouse. I got the last loaf! I then picked up some seasonal produce for the week ahead: heirloom and grape tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, beets, lettuce, and summer squash.
11:20am
Like clockwork, I crave a smoothie mid-morning. I enjoyed my beet and berry smoothie while playing “race cars” with my son. Multitasking at its finest.
12:15pm
There was a break in the rain around noon and we took full advantage to get outside, soak up some vitamin D, and take Mason to the playground. Being so pregnant, I don’t move much while I am there, but it felt good to sit on a bench in the sunshine.
1:45pm
After successfully getting Mason down for a nap (which happens few and far between these days), I baked another batch of my healthy hot spinach and crab dip. I had the biggest hankering to put some on a piece of sourdough toast with an heirloom tomato for lunch. So delicious!
A sweet treat ensued: a piece black bean brownie with peanut butter and a date on top.
5:00pm
The rest of the afternoon was spent curled up on the couch. We watched a movie, read, and just relaxed for hours.
6:45pm
Alex was in charge of cooking dinner. On his menu: steaks with a red wine mushroom sauce and asparagus. I found out at my last prenatal appointment that I am a little anemic, so I have been trying to increase my red meat consumption. Funny enough, I constantly craved red meat when I was pregnant with Mason, but not so much this time around.
After dinner I made some Creami and we called it a night. It was a relaxing, rainy Saturday, which is just what I needed.
