I’m not going to lie: last week was a doozy. As seems to be the case with just about everyone I know who hadn’t gotten the virus yet, Spencer and I finally tested positive for Covid over Fourth of July weekend. Mostly I’m annoyed that we made it two+ years without having to deal with it, only to get it now when I’m seven months pregnant. My symptoms haven’t been too bad, thankfully, but I do expect this cough to linger. (Also, I feel like poor Zoey may have picked it up from us, too? She’s been to the vet and seems to be fine, but I swear I don’t know what else could’ve had her feeling the way she was.)
This week will be a short one for me since I’m heading to Newport, Rhode Island, on Thursday for a college friend’s bachelorette party. Having never spent any time in that part of the country (and being quite a big fan of “The Last Great American Dynasty” from folklore), I’m incredibly pumped, and it was honestly part FOMO that made me sign on for a bachelorette weekend at 31 weeks pregnant, but I’m not mad about it.
Here are a few little things that have made my sneezy, cough-filled life a bit better over the last month!
BAKE: These Neapolitan cookies were worth every second of prep time.
I’ve had these cookies from The Vanilla Bean Blog on my to bake list since Emily from Cupcakes & Cashmere made them months ago, and they did not disappoint! Both the strawberry and chocolate sections were great (you use pulverized, freeze-dried strawberries and cocoa powder), but the real star of the show was the sugar cookie. It had the perfect amount of vanilla and was a great base for the other two flavors.
I tried two different ways of “assembling” the cookies: first like the blog suggests by pulling pieces of each dough and sticking them together, and second by rolling them into logs, smooshing them together, and cutting them into 1/4″ sections. Both ways worked well, but the second way was definitely easier. These were an impressive-looking cookie to bring to the office without needing to spend time frosting or decorating them!
PLAY: If you’re in Chicago, you have to check out this super cool darts bar.
Spencer and I spent the last weekend in June with a group of friends in Chicago, celebrating two friends’ thirty-first birthdays. We had such a great time, boating out on Lake Michigan and eating good food together. My favorite activity, however, was a three-hour visit to Flight Club, an interactive darts bar that’s kind of like Topgolf but with dart boards.
Both of our families have recently started playing darts, and my favorite part of Flight Club was the board, which tabulates your score for you and allows you to play a ton of different head-to-head games. We had over a dozen people in our group, and we were able to play games that included the whole group, something that wouldn’t really be possible if you were trying to play cricket or another typical darts game on a regular board. I wasn’t imbibing, but they also had a full bar stocked with everything you can imagine and a really unique menu of apps and shareables. It looks like the franchise is expanding across the U.S., so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll get one in Cincinnati!
EAT: Speaking of Chicago, we had the best doughnuts in River North.
We walked a ton while we were in Chicago (as in we didn’t Uber one time), and by the time we’d walked by Firecakes Donuts‘ cute little walk-up window for the third time, I knew we’d be stopping in on our way out of town. In the name of science, we got a variety: a bourbon rhubarb fritter for Spencer, a strawberry cake donut for me, and a Valrhona chocolate iced donut for us to share. Each one was fantastic, but I think my strawberry one tasted particularly fresh and amazing. My only regret is not realizing they had donut ice cream sandwiches until we were picking them up on Sunday morning, and I just couldn’t justify ordering one for breakfast!
LISTEN: I’m kind of obsessed with my Stranger Things “Vecna” playlist on Spotify.
Like seemingly everyone else in the world, we watched the final two Stranger Things episodes over Fourth of July weekend, and I really like how they’re wrapping everything up. I won’t go into spoilers here, but I will say that I’m also a big fan of the cool collaboration that they did with Spotify. It works perfectly with the storyline from the fourth season and is also a lot of fun for users! You can find your own Upside Down playlist, full of the most played songs from your Spotify history and your “Savior Song,” on Spotify.
WATCH: We just finished season three of The Boys, and it was something else.
On first glance, The Boys on Amazon Prime seems too violent and crass for my particular tastes, but I have to admit that I’m a big fan. They released an episode each week starting in June, and Spencer and I waited until the season was basically all out before we started watching. From the very beginning, I’ve been intrigued by the idea of what a world that included superheroes would actually be like: controlled by a huge corporation, full of asshole heroes, creating ridiculous power dynamics. The show’s creators just keep upping the ante each season plus I love a good ensemble show! While Karl Urban (aka Éomer) tends to steal the show, the entire cast is so so good.
MEDITATE: The Balance app has new sleep “journeys” that cure even third trimester insomnia.
I’ve been using the Balance meditation app on and off since the beginning of the pandemic, but ever since I got into this constant tossing and turning, can’t get comfortable period of pregnancy, I’ve been using the special Sleep meditations to jumpstart my sleep. The two newest sleep meditations are basically adult bedtime stories that take you on a journey via either riverboat or train. I would love to tell you more about them, but I’ve never made it to the end of one! They soothe me right to sleep!
Our latest birthing class was taught by a doula who suggested doing 10-15 minutes of meditation each day leading up to birth, so I’ve also started a 10-day “Relaxation” plan in Balance.
What’s one little thing that’s elevated your day-to-day life lately?
P.S. If you’re looking for more baking recipes, I baked a lot last April and shared my favorite things!
Save This Post to Pinterest
Thanks for reading! Posts on An Aspiring Heroine may contain affiliate links. When you click and shop the links, we may receive a commission. Learn more.
