Hannah Morrison

Baby-Ready with HelloFresh

Well, we are truly counting down the hours, seconds, moments until Baby R. As we get closer to my due date (in the DEAD of Texas summer), getting out to the grocery store is an endeavor- especially with masks required/heat advisories/and being so pregnant I can barely walk… So with all these factors combined, having my family dinners delivered to my front door is just the best thing that could ever happen to me right now hehe.

I know I talk about HelloFresh a lot y’all, but I promise you it’s because I love them so much. I think it’s important to remind y’all we actually were HelloFresh customers FIRST before ever partnering with them as I have had the opportunity to do over the last year. Working with brands my family actually uses is a top priority to me as an influencer, and integrity is a core value to my family. We will never post certain types of photos for likes, work with brands we don’t trust, or talk about a product we don’t actually love and believe in just for a paycheck. That’s not my job. My job is to create marketing content for brands I love! I think it’s important to share that from time to time to help anybody new around here truly get to know why I do what I do. I love sharing things that I love or make my life easier for the sake of helping you out. Try this brand, not that one. Save some money and avoid testing out products – I did it for you! Buy this quality brand vs. that one – it’s worth the splurge. Or, buy this product instead of that over-priced one! … Whatever the scenario, I love being a resource for you to make educated purchases for your family.

With that said, I AM TEAM HelloFresh! It’s truly so convenient and helpful, and I love trying out recipes I would have never used otherwise. This month, you can click here to get $80 off your order on me (including free shipping on the first box!) from HelloFresh!

Some restrictions apply- purchase is required! 

Summer Dresses (Great for Newborn Pics!)

Holy smokes, y’all. How am I still pregnant? Who the heck knows… hehe. I am technically 38 weeks now, however my body has been prepping for weeks. At 35 weeks I started having pre-labor signs *super painful evening practice contractions!* and now I am about 2 cm dilated and over 50% effaced… so I am just a walking ticking time bomb at this point. Currently having contractions… pray my water breaks lol.

To be honest, my anxiety has been pretty high the closer I get to delivery. I have had a couple breakdowns about how different this hospital experience will be from Knox’s birth. I will have to wear a mask at any point a doctor or nurse is present, which makes me really anxious to be honest. I have a really hard time with a mask on my face, which is why I have generally just chosen to stay home so much through the last couple of months. Second, I decided months ago that in order to hopefully have a successful VBAC, I will be getting an epidural to calm my body once I arrive at the hospital. I am incredibly anxious about this. I don’t do well with needles or hospital settings in general, so I am just really nervous. I will be laboring from home for as long as possible, though, as long as things progress well! If you weren’t around here for Knox’s birth, I had a birth plan for non-medicated birth in the hospital. I labored for 9 hours with almost no progress, so I was forced to get an epidural. I still ended up with an emergency c-section and we discovered Knox was cord wrapped THREE TIMES and would have never come vaginally. So, God was incredibly sweet and protected us all 29 hours of labor to bring that boy into the world. Lastly, I can’t have my mom present this time around and Knox can’t come meet Baby R.  I have dreamed of that special moment my son walks into the hospital room with a gift to meet his brother. I know it’s small in the grand scheme of things- but it’s still a dream I have to let die. It’s just all really different and nerve-wracking, and I am having to let myself grieve it all. But, at the end of the day, however this boy decides to come and whenever… I just want a healthy baby in my arms when its all said and done. I have to keep reminding myself that.

Today, as I am prepping for labor (and praying it’s TIME) I am also thinking through all things post-labor, including newborn pics! I rounded up some favorite summer dresses currently available in my favorite shops that will photograph well AND be perfect for postpartum. ALL of these are non-maternity and great for everybody! I just made sure to pick ones that are friendly to that postpartum belly. 😉

The Dresses:

Baby R’s Nursery:

Creating a Master Bedroom You Love

I can’t believe we moved into this home three summers ago. It was a LONNGGGGG process figuring out how to get into a home, but also a total God story when we found this exact one. It had just hit the market and was ours in less than 24 hours! AND we bought it for way under asking price. It’s crazy how easy things are when God says “YES.”

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of having a home of my own. Decorating it, styling it, and making a cozy space for the people I love. The last 3 years I have slowly filled this home with pieces I love to make it our own -seeing my dream come true-and replacing our newlywed hand me down furniture as we could.

Our master bedroom is my favorite spot to be. Ever since growing our family, it’s been priority to make our room a retreat. I wanted to create a neutral space that felt like an oasis without losing touches of my personality. Pops of pinks dispersed throughout our room on neutral tones with black & gold metal accents has created a chic and mature space that both Paul and I love. Our big cozy chair in the corner used to be in our living room, but we swapped it for two leather chairs (these!), making it the perfect fit for our nook that I wanted to create for us to do our quiet time in.

I am a huge believer in slowly creating rooms you love in your home with QUALITY pieces rather than spending a bunch of money at once on poor quality furniture that you’ll have to replace in just a couple of years. Because of this approach, we have filled each new space we’ve lived in slowly over the last 6 years of marriage with items I LOVE. Each new apartment/home required adding a bit as we gained more space, and it’s worked out really well for us. I linked every item *or similar ones* in our room for you to create your own oasis!

Outfit:

 

Our paint colors you can see are:

Alabaster SW for master bath walls

1/2 SW Stardew + 1/2 Uncertain Grey for French doors

Bedroom walls: Unknown greige-y color. I get asked about this color a lot on IG but it was here when we moved in! I have no idea what it is.

 

 

Shop My Room:

Hello 28

Well, like that, I am 28! How crazy to think 10 years ago I was graduating high school and looking ahead to moving to the city that would become my home/where I met my husband/where I would build the rest of my life.

In a lot of ways, 28 is oddly similar to 18.

This year was seriously insane. The last 6 months have been life-altering. The next 6 months have me both terrified and thrilled. We have so much to share soon with y’all, but for now… I will just leave some cliff hangers hehe.

27 brought me a lot of joy, hurt, disappointment, tears, parenting wins, parenting fails, and -thank God- growth. I think 27, arguably, brought me the most heartache and disappointment I have experienced in my life. I learned what I value at my very core more than ever, both for my family and personally. We took a lot of risks. We jumped – We fell a few times – We rose victorious a few others. It’s truly been a ground breaking, put a flag in it kind of year. This is a year I will look back on when I am old and say, “Oh yeah, that was a great age. Great year. Risky and imperfect, but a GREAT year.”

For 28, we are looking to some huge shifts and changes as a family. We are gaining Baby R (any day now!) and beginning some massive new adventures. I believe this year will be one we step into promises and callings God told us we would do a very long time ago. A fulfillment of sorts. 

There are a lot of question marks over us right now, yet I have never felt so confident in my family, who we are, and what we are called to. I am honestly so pumped for 28! Thanks for being here, as always. I am so grateful for each and every one of you!

Photos by Cottonwood Road Photography at The Lumen Room Plano

Ninja Foodi Review + Zucchini Chips

You guys. This is not an exaggeration… I am about to tell you about the best gadget to date we’ve ever bought for our kitchen. We use it literally at least twice, if not three times a day. From eggs, to fully frozen chicken, to pasta dishes… it’s changed our cooking life. Especially because now Paul feels adequate enough to cook dinner hehe. SIGN ME UP!

Okay… the best gadget ever is… Our Ninja Foodi. If you recall, I have raved about our Ninja Coffee maker for about a year. And, we also have the Ninja blender. BUT THIS AIR FRYER AND PRESSURE COOKER IS THE BEST THING EVER. Cue the fireworks, the heart eyes… all the things. I got it for Mother’s Day, and I am still giddy about it. The air fryer setting is what we use the most. I love the crisp it puts on everything. But, I have used the pressure cooker setting for an all-in-one chicken and rice stir fry style dish, and it was very yummy! I didn’t realize the whole pressure cooker thing is actually dangerous, though…. so I just went for it and it’s by God’s grace I didn’t explode the kitchen. I had the lid on wrong… lol. Geez, read the directions and you’ll be better off than me. Easy.

There is also a baking setting you can throw literally anything into to bake (cookies, pizza, frozen baked goods… anything!). The BEST part about this whole gadget, next to the tasty food itself, is the clean up. Our dishes and pots/pans for every meal have decreased significantly. It’s so easy to clean the pot insert, and you literally are done. All done in this one pot.

Gadgets:

Outfit:

 

 

Zucchini Chips:

Our favorite restaurant recently gave us their recipe for the Zucchini Chips we order every time we dine there. (Read a full list of my favorite restaurants and what we order, here!) I was mind blown they would do that… and since they were so sweet to, I wanted to share with y’all! These are seriously so good. We do them in the air fryer (they do it in the oil at the restaurant). But, geeeez they’re so yummy either way! Nothing beats them by the chef, though. This just give us our fix in between date nights. 😉

2 Cups Sliced Zucchini

As Needed, Rice and Tapioca Flour Mix (We just used Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose)

As Needed, Buttermilk Wash (Club soda for dairy free!)

1/4 cup Peppadew Peppers, cut

3 Shishido Peppers

1 1/2 oz. Sweet Chili Vinaigrette, stirred well (we found a super yummy one at the local grocery store in the foreign foods aisle!)

Lime zested

Cilantro, picked

To Build:

  1. Place zucchini in flour mix, evenly coating by hand. Shake off excess.
  2. Place in buttermilk (or club soda)
  3. Replace zucchini in flour mix and shake off once more
  4. Place zucchini and peppers in fryer at 350 for 15 minutes (or until crispy enough for your liking!) They should be firm – how many you put in at a time will determine the cook time as well.
  5. Toss with Sweet Chili Vinaigrette, lime zest, and cilantro
  6. SERVE AND EAT!

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