Savannah Wedding Weekend

A few weeks back we traveled to Savannah for a friend from law school's beautiful wedding.  It was my first trip to the coastal Georgia town, and I was not disappointed.  It is a very charming town and reminded me of Charleston, SC, but on a smaller scale.  Here are some highlights from our trip:

STAY:  The Planters Inn on Reynold's Square.  We stayed in a 60 room hotel in historic downtown Savannah that is rumored to be haunted, though after two nights, we didn't see any ghosts (supposedly dressed in "period garb").  The inn was very quaint and we even received a free upgrade to a larger room upon arrival.  Complimentary wine and cheese is served every evening in the lobby and the inn offers a complimentary breakfast each morning.  This was the perfect location to walk to the shopping district, the waterfront and all the restaurants.  I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for a place in Savannah.

EAT:   Being as it is in the South, Savannah is not lacking in places to eat.  For one, the great Paula Dean is from Savannah and has her own restaurant - The Lady & Sons, but it sells out on a regular basis, so you have to get there early.  We walked along the Savannah River and looked at many menus - most offered some variety of seafood.  They all looked delicious and we had a hard time choosing one.  Luckily, one of the partners in Mr. Cob's firm worked in Savannah for five years, so we asked him where we should have dinner for a special date night Friday evening.  He suggested Vic's on the River, which is located in an old cotton warehouse dating back to 1859 and offers "fine contemporary Southern cuisine."  While we had to wait about thirty-five minutes to be seated, the food was definitely worth the wait.  We shared their award-winning crawfish beignets as an appetizer (they won first place the Taste of Savannah last year).  They were one of the best things I have ever eaten.  For my main course I tried the Jumbo Crab Cake on crab risotto and Mr. Cob had the Pecan Encrusted Grouper - both excellent options. 

DRINK & WATCH SOCCER:  We were in Savannah the Saturday of the World Cup when USA played Ghana, so we had to hunt down the perfect place to watch the game.  Friday afternoon Mr. Cob popped in every restaurant and bar to determine who had the best TV set up.  We settled on Churchills Pub  Restaurant on West Bay Street.  Worried we wouldn't get a good seat, we ended up at the pub two and half hours before game-time, which might have been a bit over precautious, but we got good seats (for 8) up front next to a big screen TV.  Sadly the game didn't turn out as we'd have liked, but it was a great place to watch the game and spend the afternoon with friends.  The food was your typical pub fair, but was decent (especially the onion rings, and the spinach dip).  The virgin bloody mary wasn't the best I've had, but it sufficed. 

Oh, another tid-bit about Savannah.  As long as you have your alcoholic drink in a plastic cup, you can bring it with you wherever.  Mr. Cob even stopped a police officer just to make sure he wasn't violating any laws by drinking his beer while walking along the river.  The cop thought we were the strange ones for asking!  So enjoy the beverages while visiting Savannah - just remember your plastic cup!

SHOP:  River Street is filled with kitschy beach stores where you can get anything from salt-water taffy to Surrender the Booty tee shirts, and anything and everything "Savannah" related or monogrammed.  But if you're looking for boutique type clothing stores, you're best to head to Broughton Street, which is filled with great shops.  I know there is more shopping in Savannah, but these are just the two spots we hit up.

WEDDING...I think I'll save that post for later - it was much to beautiful of a wedding to fit into the end of this post.

22 to go

I just finished another book on my list.  Checked off The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  It was a pretty quick, light read filled with humor.  I now understand more of my husband's humor and the answer to life's ultimate question.

After I finish the 30 books I'm going to have to have a movie-marathon and watch all the books-turned-into-films.  A much less time consuming challenge!

Next on my list - Either Great Expectations or Gulliver's Travels - its the two we have in the house, so figure best to start there.  I wouldn't want to rack up any more library fines.  And Mr. Cob is no longer letting me use his library card, since I cost him some fines with a month overdue books.  Oops!

Chicken Apple Salad Pitas

Aside from the wonderful rest and joy we got while on our mini-vacation to Michigan, I also came back with a new recipe.  I can't eat lunch meat while pregnant, so Mama Kae was kind enough to have multiple options for my lunches - one of which I loved so much that I went out and bought all the ingredients to make for my lunches this week.  It's easy, healthy and delicious!

Chicken Apple Salad:

2-3 chicken breasts cooked and diced (or if you're "lazy" (or inventive, you interpret as you will), like yours truly, you can buy a precooked rotisserie chicken and cut it up.  I used about 1/3-1/2 of the chicken)

1 red bell pepper (diced)

4 green onions (thinly chopped)

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)---the can is the size of a soup can

1 granny smith apple (diced)

Put all the above ingredients in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix together the following (or not - I just poured them each over the chicken mixture):

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup white wine vinegar (I used white Balsamic vinegar and it was delicious)

Red pepper flakes - amount varies depending on whether you like it hot or are whimpy

Cinnamon - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon or to taste (I forgot this altogether and just added a splash of sugar.  Yes, you can splash a dry ingredient.  Trust me.)

If using a separate mixing bowl (i.e. if you like lots of dishes), mix the four above ingredients; pour over chicken mixture and mix thoroughly. (Or just dump them in the chicken mixture one by one and stir.)



Serve over a bed of lettuce or spinach; or in a soft tortilla shell; or eat straight from the bowl with a fork or spoon, or your hands.  I won't judge.  Or you can eat it on a whole wheat pita, as I have been doing.


I just made a big batch and have left it in the work refrigerator all week.  It definitely livens up the typical brown bag lunch.


And, if you're anti-meat, just leave out the chicken, and voila, vegetarian apple bean salad.


Thanks Mama Kae for the recipe!  Lukas likes it too...

Baby Boy at 23 weeks

Our doctor appointments today went great.  Baby Boy is 1 pound 3 ounces, which is average for his age (or below average as his slightly disappointed father pointed out...he's in the 41st percentile for weight at this point in gestation).  I quickly pointed out to Mr. Cob that I was quite alright with the babe being a little below average in his weight considering I was the one having to push him out of my you-know-what.  True.

His heart looks great, as well as all other major organs.  He was breech at the moment, but the doctor said he's still moving all the time so no need to worry about that now. This is most likely the last ultrasound we'll have, unless one is needed closer to his arrival.  We got some great shots that we wanted to share.

He keeps his hands by his head and even sucks his thumb.  I think he's still resembling Mr. Cob, although the nose might be from my side of the family.  I'm very curious whether he'll come out a blondie or a brunette - or bald.

We definitely decided on his name today.  Any guesses?  Here's a hint: It means "brings light" and we are using the Swedish spelling as opposed to the traditional American spelling....

Week 23 pictures

I know I forgot last week, so you didn't get any week 22 pics, but here I am this morning - 23 weeks!

I have to say, I think the angle of this pictures is deceiving...I dont' think my belly is that big, but then again, I could be in denial.

I'm off to the doctor this afternoon for anther ultrasound and then my monthly OB appointment, so hopefully I'll have more pics of Baby Swan to share.

And for those wondering, we're 99% set on his name...

Mini-Vacation

As you may have guessed due to the lack of recent posts, the Swans went on a mini-vacation for the long holiday weekend.  We flew up to Michigan to visit Mr. Cob's family and relax at the lake.  The weather was perfect!  After experiencing mid to high 90s and high humidity, it was a refreshing break to have mid-80 degree temps with low humidity.  I even came back with a little sun on my skin.

Our trips up there are always so relaxing and rejuvenating.  I even found time to walk most days - even walk/running 5.8 miles one day!  We grilled out every night and played games and caught up with one another.  One of my favorite things about marrying in to Mr. Cob's family was that in many ways they are much like my own.  Mainly, we're both huge game playing families (which I may have mentioned before).  Our big games this weekend were ladder ball, Metro, Chinese Checkers and, of course, cards.

For those who don't know about Metro, you should check it out!  It's become one of our favorite games and can be played with 2-6 players. Here's the description from Amazon.com:  "The eve of the 1900 Worlds Fair is approaching, and excavations are taking place across the city. Bizarre-looking scaffolds arise everywhere. Tunnels are built in the streets to later be covered with earth.Take part in the construction of the Paris Metro! Each player works to complete a set of lines across Paris and scores points based on the length of the lines - after all, we want to show the tourists as much of our fine city as possible. When you complete your lines, you tally your points and the player with the most points when the fair opens, is the winner!"

It doesn't sound like a difficult game, but its very strategic.  There's plenty of opportunities for sneaky play and defensively crushing your opponents dreams.  I'm very competitive, if you couldn't tell.  Anyway, I'd say its up there in my top 5 list of board games.  (The others, for those wondering, are Settlers of Catan, Wise and Otherwise, Scrabble, and Carcassonne).

Shopping Success

I am now the proud new owner of four more maternity dresses, one maternity top and two "anytime" necklaces!

My first stop was Gap Maternity.  And for those who don't know, it is located in the back of the Baby Gap.  I think this was a brilliant marketing ploy to force expectant moms to walk through the adorable baby clothes and tempt us into purchasing the these little bits of clothing, when all we really need at this point is clothes for ourselves, not our unborn babies.  But, I resisted the urge and only shopped for myself.  I now own this (not exactly work appropriate, but I'm sure it will get plenty of wear...):

And I'm currently wearing this:

I did try on some maternity pants, but couldn't find a pair to fit.  After some discussion with the sales lady, it has become apparently that my body shape might be best suited for dresses and skirts for the remainder of the pregnancy.  In order to find pants that fit my booty and thighs, I have to get a size that is just way to big in the waist, which is odd considering they all have elastic waistbands.  Go figure.  I guess I should be thankful that my wasit/belly isn't gigantic at this point.  That fun is sure to come later. So rather than fight it with the pants, I just bought a bunch of dresses.

My next stop was Macy's which leases space to both A Pea In the Pod and Motherhood Maternity, where I found some more dresses.  While my goal was to buy work appropriate attire, I found this little number and I just couldn't resist. 

But then I also found these two dresses which I figure can be work appropriate with some creativity.

And this, which I admit looks a little questionable, but it was cute on - at least I thought so, but my definition of cute may have changed in the past few months..

So now I just need some new shoes and I should be set for at least another month or two.  Or until I have another emotional meltdown about how I look.