Hannah Morrison

Holiday Stuffing Recipes + Top Affordable Maternity Jean Pick for Petites!

The first recipe I shared of my family’s favorite holiday foods was my momma’s corn casserole. It’s been on the table every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas since I can remember, and is always a hit! Naturally, I carried that into adulthood and it’s the dish I take for any holiday party that I need to bring a side to. It’s that good, y’all. And… so easy it’s almost hard to take credit for it at all haha, but I do none the less. 😉

Today, stuffing/dressing (whatever you prefer to say!). We have a couple different stuffing recipes in the family that are very different and representative of where my grandmothers are from. My Mamma’s (daddy’s mom) is a traditional southern cornbread stuffing and it’s THE BOMB. She makes it every year, and it’s just so darn good with that gravy on top… omg, like actually my mouth is watering. My Grandma Davis’ (mom’s mom) is an oyster stuffing. She and my grandpa are from the north, clearly. She grew up in Ohio and Grandpa is from Maryland! It took me years to actually try the oyster stuffing… but once I did, my Thanksgiving food life was changed. Thanksgiving at Grandma Davis’ isn’t complete without it.

Mamma’s Cornbread Stuffing

1 can of biscuits (of choice)

1 full mix of cornbread (9x 13 pan’s worth)

3 stalks of celery

1 large onion chopped finely

Sage to taste (about 4 tbsp.)

Salt and pepper

2 Eggs

4 cups chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

My mamma uses all of the cornbread crumbled up with the ingredients, but adds the biscuits in (doesn’t use them all- just until the consistency is right).  She says “It should be mushy… if that’s even a texture to say.”

Cooktime: About 30 minutes

 

Grandma’s Oyster Dressing

1 pint of fresh oysters

Saltine Crackers- approximately 3 packages (long stacks)

1 1/2 sticks of butter

1 1/2 c. milk (may need less for smaller oysters

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for approx. 45 minutes or until golden brown. Recipe makes 3 layers- layer as follows:

1st layer-  coarsely hand crushed crackers , about 1/2 inch deep

2nd layer- place 1/3 of oysters on top of crackers

Place dabs of butter evenly over layer of crackers and oyster, and repeat 2 more times.

Now let’s taco-bout these maternity jeans!

I had the HARDEST TIME finding jeans that fit my 5’1 petite frame. Not the length, particularly but the hip width and bootay sizes. Nothing fit me right and everything was falling off after about 5 minutes, or just sagging from the start. I would be all for wearing just leggings for the rest of my pregnancy, but being a worship leader, I am on stage and can’t wear dresses (there are very few I can wear on stage) and wearing leggings isn’t exactly ideal for presentation. I really found myself in a tough spot, and I cried the most in my entire pregnancy over jeans… no joke. Jeans. I wasn’t going to spend $150+ on a pair from Motherhood or Pea in the Pod, but I still wanted jeans I felt confident in, too. Then, I found this new line at Target!! Ingrid & Isabel is a higher priced line of maternity clothing carried at boutiques, but Target teamed up with them to provide a more affordable option. I originally had heard about them from a friend, but when I went in store the first time to try them… they only carry a size 2 and up, which was too big.

Because they didn’t carry a 0 in store, I had to special order order online. I had a little bit of a Target gift card left over, so I ended up spending a whopping $27 on these. They feel amazing on and honestly feel like I spent a lot of money on them. I prefer the side paneling FAR MORE than the over belly. It’s totally preference, and so many women go for the over belly, but I like feeling as “normal” as possible. I also don’t like have the band over my belly because my bump is on the smaller side. The over belly panel just has a hard time staying up. I learned being in jeans I can do a front tuck in and actually fit like a normal, non-maternity pair of denim made me feel most confident.

My only complaint about these is by the end of the day, they do sag just a hair. But, I am hoping in my final weeks of pregnancy I will fill them out a little better. But, I give them a 9/10!

xoxo- Han

You can shop my entire look below. 

Photos by Cottonwood Road Photography for The Cake by Hannah

 

Christmas Card Ideas

We are well on our way to Baby K’s delivery in early December -if we make it the full 40 weeks- and we can feel the weight, heat, and pressure of racing the clock to make sure life is ready (or… you know, the best we can possibly be prepared) for the arrival of baby. We hung curtains last night which makes the room feel that much more ready, and I cannot wait to show y’all our nursery reveal with DaVinci Baby and a whole bunch of other sweet partners who have made K’s room just AMAZING.

With preparation for baby also means preparation for mommy. I have never… taken off haha. Even when I worked a 9-5, when I had “time off” I was working on the blog. Being I work from home now full-time, I literally don’t even realize sometimes that I am working when I think I am “relaxing.” So, to make sure I give myself as much of a true maternity leave as possible for late November into January, I am knocking out photoshoots, collaborations, and content now for all the way through January. Though it’s a lot I suppose, I actually LOVE IT haha. I will be pregnant in posts post-baby’s arrival… but I love having months worth of stuff planned and ready to go. So, all that to say, we are knocking things out, winding down meetings and email lists, and all the things. My type-A self is so on cloud 9.

 

I think the shoot I am MOST looking forward to is our upcoming annual Christmas card photoshoot with (duh.. who else) Cottonwood Road Photography at the brand new wedding venue The Nest at Ruth Farms who we happen to know the precious owner of, and she is just simply the sweetest. As I started searching for tops and dresses to narrow down what type of photos I wanted to do for our cards, I decided to just go for it this year. You can see from our past years that we leaned toward casual and more “normal” attire. But, these photos will be like maternity photos, too, being that they’re so close to my due date, so I wanted to get something a little nicer than I would usually go for in our Christmas cards. I mean, I might not ever be pregnant again during my favorite time of year, so I just want to really celebrate and soak in the festive spirit. I also just got so dang excited for the holidays from looking at dresses, and may or may not have added a couple other fun dresses for upcoming parties and events.

I have put together a bunch of dresses I found and deciphered between for our photos (I had 15 in my cart for ASOS before I had to narrow down…). Some are maternity strictly, and others are not. But, ASOS totally just made me a fan from their amazing maternity dress selections that are festive, fun, and so cute! I wanted a little “extra” without being too much and not me.

Which dress do YOU think I chose for our photos?!

I have included our Christmas Card shoots from each year of our marriage. Hopefully it can help you with pose ideas and outfit ideas! I can’t believe we are celebrating our 4th Christmas together as a married couple. WOW. Time flies, y’all.

Year 1 (10 months married… and too broke to get a haircut for doodle… haha!)

Year 2 at Top Fun Ranch (Just had moved to Mckinney!)

Year 3 (Last year’s!)

 

 

Why I Chose a Non-Medicated Birth

I have been incredibly honest from day one of pregnancy (both with myself and y’all) that I am going into this whole pregnancy/labor/mommy thing knowing… nothing. I mean, literally, nothing. Other than the fact I knew with everything in me I was ready to be a mama, I had zero grasp of ALL THE THINGS. How to change a diaper… never done it before, so I am not really positive. Bring up sleep or potty training and I just about want to tinkle my pants my self. But, like most everything in my life, when I make my mind up about something, I do it. I do it all in, and I make my own opinions and methods to do so. I take advice and ask a lot of questions, but all with the goal of custom tailoring things to my own ideas.

With that, I knew I was going to have an opinion about how I give birth. I would say I am like 60-40 on the crunchy vs. not-s0-crunchy scale. (40% of me being the “crunchy”) I do not diffuse oils or immediately go to a suitcase of them when I am sick or hurt, but I do have a few I use when I don’t want to take medicine. There will be a couple in my hospital bag! And, though I eat as clean and healthy as possible (and much because of my health, I have to), I certainly don’t have my own garden growing in the backyard. With that context (so that you don’t immediately discount me as one “type of mom” vs. other “type of mom”- both are great!) the location and methods for my birth were really important to me. I knew pretty deep to my core that I did not want a medicated birth -to the best of my ability- because of my experience with medications in my life. Allergies to antibiotics that we didn’t even know about caused a lifetime of issues, and I don’t want anything in me if I can help it. (But, I do believe medicine is a gift of God, so I am not anti-medicine in the slightest.)

Anyways, I began researching ways to avoid an epidural, which if I am honest is 1000% the leading factor initially making me explore a non-medicated birth. I am the queasiest person you will ever meet, and ever since I can remember (I mean, truly since I was young), one of my biggest fears in having a child has been- and still is to this day- having to get an epidural. So, I would rather endure a shorter labor with more pain than a likely longer labor (I will get into that) with zero pain but no control over my body.

Every woman is different, and I respect every single method a woman chooses for herself to bring a human into this world. Like, did you just read that? You’re bringing a HUMAN INTO THE WORLD. I ain’t judging how you decide to do it.

I am also most definitely not saying that what I have chosen to do is the end all, be all, perfect, most spectacular way to do birth. Not even in the slightest, especially considering I haven’t ACTUALLY done it yet. But, I will share more in depth the reasons I am willing to try a non-medicated birth vs. a traditional medicated hospital birth.

  1. Inducing labor prematurely will almost certainly cause a longer labor. Your body knows when it’s time. **There are absolutely scenarios that inducing is SO necessary. I am thankful for science and medical advances that have allowed for this as an option in life or death situations for mom and/or baby. 
  2. Pitocin is no doubt sometimes necessary, and I am not against it. But, it does take your labor from 0 to 100 instantly and can cause big issues. This paired with premature induction can cause a laundry list of potential issues and outcomes, and your statistic for ending in a c-section sky rockets.
  3. I want to feel when to push rather than being told when to push. Doctors are doing the very best they can in monitoring your body throughout pregnancy, but bottom line- nobody can know what your body truly is feeling except for YOU. Women without epidurals are often heard saying, “I have to push right now”, and they do and it is successful. Women who cannot feel what’s going on down there sometimes are told to push when, if they were unmedicated, would not feel it necessary or the right time to. This can cause higher risk of tears (I cringe every time I write that word) and hemorrhaging, which obviously is both painful and a longer recovery.
  4. I want to be able to walk around and get into positions that I feel are most successful for my body to labor and deliver in. When you are numb from the ribs down, you obviously can no longer move and are forced to stay on your back.
  5. I do not want an IV in my back while being forced to stay on my back my entire labor and delivery.
  6. I want to be able to labor in the shower/tub.
  7. I want to go home as quickly as possible post-birth to get into my new routine and getting baby situated. (Again, this is in relation to recovery time with epidural vs. no epidural and all the potential things that can happen with interventions.)
  8. I want to eat and be as present as possible for as long as possible.

    I hope this helps you guys out who have asked me to share why exactly I chose a non-medicated birth. We are taking classes with my midwife every week that are essentially training Paul to be my coach (or doula), and learning methods to make my non-medicated birth better and more successful. All this to say, too, if the moment came where medicine or interventions were necessary, CLEARLY we are going to do whatever is best for Baby K. What my midwife says is this, and note that it’s not ALWAYS true but often is: Once you use one intervention, it’s likely more will be needed and cause further delay of delivery. Being I am a git r’ done kinda girl, this is a huge reason why I have chosen non-medicated.

My goal is a quick, seamless, from home for as long as possible labor, and -most importantly- a healthy baby boy in my arms at the end of all this.

I love you guys and -as always- thank you for following along this crazy journey on The Cake, for being part of my life, and contributing to this community. I am SO THANKFUL for each of you. Now, can you believe it is… 47 days until my due date?!?! HOW. Like, seriously, how?

I will just be over here hyperventilating, but y’all have a spectacular day. 😉

xoxo- Han

All photos by Cottonwood Road Photography for The Cake by Hannah

Dress and Jacket from Landry Kate

Shop here for dress/tunic

Similar Boots:

Brow shaping/tinting and eyelash tinting: Southern Chic Wax

First Baby Shower + Registry Rundown

This past weekend was seriously one of the sweetest of my life. Celebrating Baby K with an absolutely Pinterest worthy shower hosted by my three best friends, mom, and God Mom made for such a sweet, happy tears filled mush-fest, and I loved every moment. It’s amazing having the same best friends since you were a pre-teen/teenager, because you literally do every single life moment together. The celebrations, the losses, the pivotal changes, and everything in between. I am the luckiest girl in the world. To be known and loved by three people like I am by them is the greatest gift.

I have been asked quite a bit what we registered for, where we registered, what we got, etc. Great news: I am doing a whole nursery reveal and rundown in November, but I also realize many of you are creating your own registries right now for your own upcoming showers, so I wanted to go ahead and start sharing what we’ve received and registered for to help you mommas to be out the best I can. Clearly, I haven’t used any of the items I have received yet, thus personal reviews of my favorite items will come after baby arrives. I registered for the things I have on my list through lots of review reading/friends who have kids advice. I hope it helps you and makes registering for things just a tad bit easier… because HOLY SMOKES it’s overwhelming! So many options for things I have NO CLUE what to do with.

Travel/Investment Items

  1. 4Moms mamaRoo Plush Infant Seat– This is your bouncer/swing (and whole lot more) all in one. With 5 settings, you get to pick what motion to set it to. The price tag feels hefty, but -again- it’s a few different items all in one and high-quality.
  2. Baby Jogger City Select LUX- The stroller abyss is a dark hole that feels bottomless with options, and you just really don’t know what the heckkkk you’re looking for. This one is AMAZING, though. High-quality, easy to breakdown and set-up for travel, easy to maneuver. The price point is a little high compared to other options, BUT it is setting you up for cheaper in the long run if you plan to have more than one kid. It’s made to add onto and move up in years with your growing family. There are tons of different attachments you can get to make it exactly what you want. (And, because of the quality, you can rest assured it actually will make it through kid 2 or 3.)
  3. city GO Infant Carseat– Listen, I didn’t know what in the world I am supposed to have or get until a very nice sales associate at Babies R Us walked my mom and I through every stage and necessity for baby. Like, I literally thought you buy a stroller and baby sits in it… no. Newborns have to have a different carrier and carseat that attaches to your stroller that they will eventually grow into… I KNOW. Mind.Blown. This one is the carrier that adapts with the City Select strollers. You can buy different brands, but you have to buy adapters specifically made to attach that brand of carrier to your brand of stroller. It’s easiest to stick within the same brands, but not impossible to mix and match!
  4. Graco 4Ever All-in-One Convertible Carseat- This seat is AMAZING. Again, slightly pricey, but your investing in something that will last you years. Literally, years. This seat is designed to grow with baby from infant to child. Rather than purchasing other seats as your child hits new milestones, this literally just expands with them for you. This doesn’t attach to your stroller, so you still have to buy the carrier (like the one I linked above) to take on walks in stroller/travel with in tote as a 0-3 infant. (Or longer depending on when they are able to sit more upright in the stroller.)
  5. Graco Bumper Jumper- Kind of stupidly excited about this one. It’s for when bubba is a little bigger, likely 5 months up or so, but it’s going to make entertaining baby while being a working momma from home a whole lot easier! It attaches to the door frame and they can bounce around, be upright and active while still seeing mommy and being “involved” (as opposed to laying in a bouncer or swing, which they will start to dislike during awake time because they’re more alert and want to see). I imagine packing orders, cooking, and getting ready in the bathroom with Baby K bouncing around in the doorway all the while.
  6. Fisher Price On-the-Go Baby Dome- This will be great for tummy time at home (the dome is removable), and for traveling with Bubba. I imagine him laying in this Wednesday nights for youth and Sunday mornings while I am in rehearsal on stage. He can lay on his tummy, play, and see everything going on with confined and protected in public spaces.
  7. Ingenuity FoldAway Rocking Bassinet- To be honest, I first wanted this just because it’s pretty and would go with my bedroom aesthetic… just being honest haha. But, the reviews match its look and we love it! It’s already sitting in our bedroom ready for sleepless (or by God’s grace, SLEEP FILLED) nights as a newborn sleeping by our bedside. It’s incredibly easy to fold up and carry, and will make traveling to grandma and grandpa’s house easy!
  8. DockATot- Everybody registers for them, but… they really do seem like an amazing investment! Our plan is to sleep train in the DockATot. We will swaddle Baby K, place in DockATot, and then place the DockATot in whatever sleeper he is in at that stage (bassinet, crib, etc.) This helps the transition to sleeping alone, in theory, easier because he is in a known confined space despite being in a different room or surrounding. We are aiming to not co-sleep, BUT if there are sleepless nights that Baby K isn’t letting us get a wink… I will do whatever it takes. The DockATot can sleep in between mom and dad in bed safely.

Feeding

I have been told so many opinions of brands for bottles and what not, and so I actually ended up registering for a couple from a few different brands to see what Baby K takes to best.

Comotomo

MAM

Tommee Tippee

Ingenuity Trio 3-in-1 Highchair– This highchair matches the gorgeous bassinet we got, and -like many of the things we are registered- it’s designed with the future in mind.

Boppy- These are great for laying baby on while feeding and then transition to help with tummy time and sitting up. I loved the print of this one!

 

Nursery Decor & Furniture 

When planning our decor, I literally could not come up with words for my “theme” I had in mind except for “zoo animals… but not like cartoony or obnoxious. Classy zoo animals.” I also was dead set on monochrome, creams & tans… Paul loves orange… so we had to find a middle ground. I really think we found the perfect balance of fun & colorful but soft and sweet.

Nursery Set- c/o DaVinci Baby (more to come in full nursery reveal)

Giraffe Painting- I am really sad, because paintings on white wood from Babies R Us that set the whole tone for our nursery are not on the site and I cannot find them ANYWHERE to link for you. But, this is a very similar idea. We are putting our giraffe and zebra painting above the crib as the focal point of the room.

(other safari animal paintings here)

Lion Throw- This was part of the orange vs. neutrals debate. As I mentioned, I wanted creams and beige. I was registered for the cutest sheep quilt and bedding, BUT alas, marriage is all about compromise and I wanted something Paul was excited about, too. So we debated all over the store about bedding that was way too cartoony vs. too monochrome. Then, almost in tears (me, not Paul), we were leaving and we walked by this and I said “THAT! Now that I can do.” We loved it and the rest was history haha.

Gold Foil Canvas Bins- I have so many canvas bins for storage in the room it’s outrageous haha. These are out on display, though, on top of the dresser. I am storing all things diaper changing in them, and all of his swaddles! Cute & organized is the name of the game for me.

Shag Rug

Dust Ruffle

Sheets

Curtains (light blocking!!!!)

Large Plush Giraffe

Lion Bookends

Changing Table

Shaggy Plush Animal Rocker

Roadster Skooter

Gold Hamper

Other

Baby Bather

Baby Tub

 

xoxo- Han

Photos by my talented cousin Kallie Cheves

Baby K’s middle name is my Mamma’s maiden name/daddy’s middle name. It’s a strong name from a strong woman I love so much!

Favorite Fall Foods

I love fall so much. I think a lot of it is to do with the tables full of food, laughs, family, friends, and the same stories that have been told a million times but never get old that inevitably accompany the season. There is something so good for the soul, something so life-giving and warm about a table full of people you love eating food that says, “I am home” while the cold winds blow outside. Whether it’s friends over for a football game, chili and cornbread on the stove for refills throughout each quarter, or a Friendsgiving celebration packed full with family favorite dishes -many of which you have never tried before, the familiarity of Thanksgiving Day, or anticipation of all the Christmas parties to come- there is something so good about a table of food and people.

Thanksgiving is no doubt my absolute favorite part of fall, though. Waking up Thanksgiving morning to the smells of decadence and sour cream, pumpkin pie, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mamma’s house for lunch and Grandma’s for dinner, and momma’s corn casserole. She makes “Laurie’s Corn Casserole” every year, a recipe she found in a random cookbook and gave a shot at years and years ago because, well, her name is Laurie and she admittedly thought it seemed easy enough. And thank goodness she did, because I literally can’t remember a single Thanksgiving that we haven’t had this corn casserole on the table. It’s my favorite, and I crave it as Thanksgiving day inches closer. Thanksgiving wouldn’t be right without it.

As for pies, I shared my apple pie recipe last year here. I love pie and I especially have found I love making them. I really only want pie during fall, though. Nothing feels as “fall-y” to me than a warm apple or pumpkin pie next to a fire playing a card game with people. Baking a pie feels like the epitome of mastering the oven, and even somewhat mastering being a woman (at least to the best of my ability). Totally in a non-sexist, women belong in the kitchen way. I just think there is something awesome about a woman who can bake a homemade pie from scratch. Funnily enough, my daddy is actually the pie experimenter in my family. I think it’s adorable. As the holidays approach, so do my daddy’s baking desires. He will come home with a pie crust and a plethora of different pie mix fillings. His thing, he likes to mix and match fillings. Cherry pumpkin or pecan pumpkin, chocolate pumpkin, cherry and apple… and at other times rather questionable mixes I can’t even seem to recall. But, I know they have happened. The holidays aren’t the holidays without my daddy taking to his pie experiments.

I wanted to share my mom’s corn casserole for y’all today. I, like mom, make it now for any holiday party we need to take a dish to and it’s always a hit. I almost feel guilty getting praise for it because of how EASY IT IS, but it really is that good. I will be sharing my favorite family recipes leading up to the holidays with y’all!

Lauries Corn Casserole

1/2 cup butter

1 can (16 oz.) whole kernel corn (undrained)

1 can (16 oz.) cream style corn

1 carton (8 oz.) sour cream

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (I have experimented a 1/2 cup cheddar and 1/2 cup sheep’s feta cheese before, and it was AMAZING!)

1 pkg (8 oz) corn muffin mix OR Bob’s Red Mill Cornbread Mix- GF (I use Bob’s Red Mill because of food allergies, and it’s just as good as the original)

Melt the butter. Add cans of corn, sour cream, grated cheese, and cornbread/muffin mix into a large bowl. Mix until no longer clumpy. Place in cookware dish (8 x 11 is best) that has been sprayed with nonstick vegetable spray. Bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes. (Check the center to make sure it’s done- you want a golden brown edge and top!)

xoxo- Han

LET’S GET SOCIAL