An Urgent Baby Update

Hi everyone – Lindsay and Bjork asked that this note be shared with our Pinch of Yum community here on the blog. If you’d like to follow more updates, you can follow Lindsay on her personal Instagram account here. Thanks to all of you who have already sent so many thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement – know that it means so much to Lindsay and Bjork. ♡ – Jenna

I took this quick bump selfie in the doctor’s office yesterday literally 15 minutes before our lives came crashing in on us. I went in for a check-up, thinking I’d be home in an hour, and ended up getting admitted on the spot for having a 4cm dilation on my cervix with my water bag threatening to break through at just 23 weeks.

Bjork and I are here in the high risk neonatal unit and we will stay here with me being on strict bedrest until baby arrives, which is not supposed to be till the end of April, but with these new developments, could happen anytime. We had already chosen this hospital to deliver at, knowing it would be a great place to be in case “anything went wrong” – but you just say that stuff, right? It’s not actually supposed to happen to you. Even though we are in the best possible place for preemies, as of 12am this morning, our tiny guy is still only 23w2d old, and the baseline for viability is 25 weeks.

In other words: if I deliver within the next few days, his chances of surviving at all, much less without major lifetime health complications, are extremely low.

We are aware of the percentages and hard possibilities and grieving them. We are also SO HOPEFUL for our son’s life and boldly and confidently praying for just a little more miracle time in that belly. Every single hour feels like it makes a difference for his survival at this point. A little more lung development, a little more time for his eyes, his skin… all of it has suddenly become so critically tied to the clock. We are asking for prayers and support especially in the next critical 24-48 hours – that everything with my body would stay calm and he’d stay tucked in right here with his mommy. just you and me, right here, as long as it takes, BB.

This is not how we want to be experiencing pregnancy and birth and newborn life, and it’s jarring and hard. We’re letting go of what now seems like such a dream for a “normal” pregnancy and a “normal” baby and embracing what’s happening right here in front of us. But forward is the only way. So one day, one hour, one minute at a time. We love you baby boy! Hang in there peanut.

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Amazingly Wholesome 5 Ingredient Banana Bread Muffins

No, I mean it. Amazingly. Wholesome.

BANANA BREAD MUFFINS. 5 Ingredients.

It’s not officially 2017 yet, but as soon as Christmas was done, my brain immediately went into the healthy, energized, refresh and reset zone that always comes with a new year. We’ve got a new baby coming, we’ve got some blog changes in the works, and we’ve got a healthy body (or two) (or three!) to get back in business with lots of new, really good, nutritious, I-will-actually-make-it practical food. Gosh, I get so excited about that combination.

Probably good that I have a little blog space to nerd out with that for a hot second.

And speaking of having a hot second.

These muffins embody everything that this week has been asking of me:

• NUTRITIOUS: You know that time post-holiday where your body is happy and full on cookies… and also begging to be fed with real food outside the main categories of sugar, frosting, and hot cocoa? Hi. I am you and you are me. These banana bread muffins are those real food things because they happen to be amazingly wholesome – shout out to oats / bananas / eggs / dates for keeping our bellies full and our bodies glowing.
• EASY: Is it just me or is that sleepy post-holiday nap addiction still dominating your vibe? My favorite activity of all time since December 25th has become NAPPING. Which is why this = 5 INGREDIENTS. You could memorize this the first time you make it.
• NOT A SALAD: I don’t know, it feels kind of soon to bust out allllll the healthy eating stops. Don’t you think we should eat comfort food and stay in our slippers and jammies for a few more days? Yeah, me too. I’ll be right over. These banana bread muffins are ideal for that confusing time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve where you are very seriously thinking about the fresh-start-new-you mindset but you are still very much embracing the fact that the holidays ARE NOT OVER YET.

You can, in fact, have the best of both worlds right here. Banana Bread Muffins FTW.

When it comes to toppings or add-ins, there is no pressure to use chocolate chips. Admittedly, that sort of cancels out the No Refined Sugar thing. But admittedly, it IS very delicious.

These little muffs have NO major fat source in them, which is super awesome and I was definitely skeptical of whether or not they could actually pull it off and TASTE GOOD, but I really do love them. They sort of remind me of a soft, yummy bran muffin, which a) I love, and b) I love to slather with butter.

Okay, okay, if you’re kind of hesitating about the butter on top, no worries – these are great as-is, pinkie promise. Also, a healthier fat alternative might be found in that jar of coconut oil or the super heavenly nut butter that’s been hiding out in your pantry. ❤️ It was just a suggestion.

Print

Amazingly Wholesome 5 Ingredient Banana Bread Muffins

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 10-12

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups oats
• 3 bananas
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup pitted whole dates
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• not necessary, but I usually toss in a pinch of salt and cinnamon if I have them around
• not necessary, but chocolate chips are

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a muffin tin.
3. Mix all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
4. Pour batter into muffin tin (you should have enough for 10-12 standard size muffins). Top with chocolate chips if you want.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

We used Dole whole pitted dates which are very soft, similar to medjool dates. Medjool dates also work in this recipe. If you need to soften the dates a bit, just soak in some warm water before putting the blender. This is especially helpful if you have a less-than-awesome blender.

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You guys, I’ve got an exciting series of recipes coming up for January and I can’t wait to share them with you! Just in case you aren’t already, NOW IS THE TIME to follow on Instagram because 1) we will be doing easy-to-follow videos of all our healthy January recipes, and 2) we will be doing an Instagram giveaway series with the healthy January recipes! I love 2017 already. ♡

Happy, healthy, wholesome mid-holiday week to all of you lovers!

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We’re Having A…

Send all the balloons!

And all the help!

This little nugget is a BOY!

Can you believe it? We’re so over the moon.

If all you wanted was the gender announcement, thank you for being here! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! You’re welcome to come back when I get normal with my emotions again which is probably never.

On the other hand, if you wanted to get into the detailed and emotional and borderline too deep perspective on all this (not that I know anything about that), then the rest of this post is for people like us. Carry on.

Boy vs. Girl vs. All My Feelings

Alright.

I know in my head that it was just a 50/50 chance and everything, but you guys, in my heart, I was just so sure it was a girl in there.

The weird thing is that I say “I was so sure” and I literally don’t even know what it means.

Excuse me, I was so sure it was a girl? Exactly HOW was I so sure? Because I did the ring over the stomach trick and got side-to-side movement? Because I was craving orange juice? Because we had a girl’s name picked out? I had zero reasons to be sure, other than maybe a little bit of wishing and hoping and vague gut-level superstitious feeling.

It’s all good and probably, on some level, normal to have a feeling like that. But then this happens: you got so locked into your hopes and dreams and visions of the future that suddenly you are 100% certain that there could only ever be a girl baby coming into your life, and anything else feels like a little bit of a straying from the plan.

So when we saw that little boy (repeat: BOY) moving around on the 20 week ultrasound, there was first that pure awe and joy and completely breathtaking adoration of his little squirming baby body (seriously, it’s all so incredible, this alien-like miracle process), and then there was the hold-up-oh-my-gosh-it’s-a-BOY moment.

The first thing I said to Bjork when we left the ultrasound room was a smiling but slightly panicked: wait tho I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH A BOY.

Hello, Roller Coaster

At first, I felt sad. I felt like I was saying goodbye to the dream of the girl.

I know, I know. It was not a right or wrong feeling – it just WAS.

And I just had to sit with it for a minute.

As I processed through my feelings of not having a girl – saving that totally perfect baby girl’s name away for another little sweetie at some other time, and re-imagining my dream of dolls and dress up clothes all over my house with new dreams of trucks and cars and Legos  – I realized that my feelings about having a boy actually had very little to do with our completely perfect baby who just happened to be a boy.

My feelings were about me.

And for the most part, they were not actually sad feelings.

They were FEARS. Fancy meeting you here, old friend.

As I talked this through with Bjork, I realized that at the root of my discomfort with having a boy was a fear that I wouldn’t know how to be a mom to a boy.

I mean, I still don’t know if I will know how to be a mom to a boy. I grew up as the oldest of three girls and that kind of girl life just makes sense to me. When I think about the boy life, my brain goes empty. Like… what do boys like to do? What do boys talk about and play with? And then come the insecurities: will I get excited about playing cars and trucks with him, or running around and playing baseball with him in the yard? Will I be able to relate to him as an adult?

Pause for a moment to say I absolutely recognize that I am making vast generalizations about gender. Of COURSE boys can and do play with dolls and kitchens and have tea parties. And of COURSE girls (my younger self included!) can and do like toy cars and playing baseball. And of COURSE every child is going to be their own unique self with their own unique interests anyway, no matter if they are a boy or girl.

But knowing that and believing it through and through still didn’t negate the feelings and fears that I had about my own abilities as I first imagined myself as a mom to a boy.

Wholehearted Living

Thankfully, time is pretty great with stuff like this, right?

And so are those first baby kicks that I’m starting to feel, and the opportunity  – yes, opportunity! – I have to wear maternity leggings, and the deliciously adorable baby lumberjack flannel and suspenders outfits that we picked out at the mall like the dorky first-time parents that we are.

He’s real, and he’s a boy, and thanks to the magic of time and re-framing and thoughtful conversations, I actually kind of like the idea of this new normal. Would I still love to have a daughter someday? of course, yes. But in the meantime, I am kicking my fears (and shame about the fears) out to the curb. No time for that if we’re gonna be Wholehearted around here.

Where I’ve landed in these last few weeks feels honest and real and grateful:

I thought this baby was going to be a girl.

AND.

We love our healthy, happy little boy so much that it takes my breath away sometimes.

AND.

We want him to be exactly who he is, which is a precious soul of unsurpassable worth.

Those three things can all co-exist.

He’s already asking us to grow as parents by re-imagining our ideas about the future, even if it’s a simple question of boy vs. girl. And even though it’s such a small thing, my answer, even with an admittedly large collection of fears and insecurities about being a “boy mom”,  is YES a thousand times, yes, yes, yes.

We love you and we like you, Baby Boy. ♡ Thanks for teaching us how to be better at life.

I said it in the last pregnancy post I wrote, but it’s worth saying again:

To you mamas who have been there – I’m so glad we can share our experiences. and thank you for creating a space that is non-judgemental and welcoming of all.

To you mamas who are still trying to get pregnant or recovering from loss – we see you, we love you, we’re cheering for you and your babies. ♡

To you readers who are in a completely different life space altogether but still show up to be friends on the internet – umm, you’re the best. XO

I will be back to the blog after Christmas! In the meantime, I hope you have too many cookies, a little nap by the fire, and a classically great holiday weekend.

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Homemade Dog Treats

Calling all dog lovers for a cute holiday baking project involving HOMEMADE DOG TREATS and BACON PB GLAZE! lols, life is awesome.

Oh, hi there!

I’ve been doing some holiday baking this week for my friends, annnd by baking I mean homemade dog treats, and by friends I mean my dog.

That counts, right?

I am 100% not the type of person who makes food for their dog, except for that right now, this exact very minute, I am that person. !!! I do not even know myself anymore. Making my own dog treats? Honestly. File under Things You Said You’d Never Do That Now Bring You a Weird Amount of Great Joy.

Something about the holidays and the music and the snow and cuddly Sage in a French blue striped turtleneck sweater just got to me, and in a moment of Christmas miraculousness, I became that person that I always rolled my eyes at. A little pumpkin, a little peanut butter, and a little whole wheat flour later, and we were in dog treat business.

Thankfully, Sage doesn’t have any special allergies or dietary needs, so there’s really no reason for me to make her homemade dog treats other than the fact that I love her something fierce and needed a break from cookies for a minute. But conveniently, this homemade dog treats recipe makes a TON and we know lots of other neighbor-ly dogs who can and will appreciate a little gift bag of soft-baked, peanut butter and bacon glazed homemade dog treats.

That drizzle, though. I mean, daaaaang.

Dog treats got me like

Finally, yes. The big moment.

Merry Christmas, dog friends of the internet! Sage wishes you lots of warmth and snuggles.

Also: please do yourself a favor and check out these adorable dog treat cookie cutters on Amazon. I die.

Print

Homemade Dog Treats

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 30-ish large dog treats

 

Ingredients

Dog biscuits:

• 1 cup pumpkin
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup oil*
• 2½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Glaze:

• 2 tablespoons bacon grease, melted
• ¼ cup smooth peanut butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine pumpkin, peanut butter, eggs, and oil in a bowl. Add in baking soda and whole wheat flour. Stir until a stiff dough forms. Knead dough or mix just until flour is incorporated.
3. Roll out dough with a rolling pin and use a cookie cutter to cut out dog bone shapes, or just bake into little circles like cookies. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Whisk the bacon grease and peanut butter until very smooth. Drizzle over the treats and cool till glaze hardens (it does best in the fridge or freezer).

Notes

We just used a basic canola oil, but we also give Sage coconut oil for her fur/skin, and I think coconut oil would work nicely here. You can also use coconut oil in place of the bacon grease in the glaze, but, I mean, come on. It's bacon grease. SO YUMMY.

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All ingredients are considered safe for dogs, but as with humans, it’s always a good idea to make sure there are no doggie allergies or sensitivities to any of the ingredients. ♡

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November Traffic and Income Report

Heyo!

Bjork here checking in for the monthly traffic and income report here on Pinch of Yum.

Every month Lindsay let’s me have a lil’ cameo on Pinch of Yum to talk about the behind-the-scenes happenings here at POY HQ.

We’ll look at four things in this month’s report:

1. November income totals
2. November traffic totals
3. November’s takeaway: The significance of Quarter Four and Quickly Finding Email Addresses
4. A Word from Lindsay: Looking to 2017

I really enjoy talking about all this blogging/marketing/business/finance stuff, so I appreciate the chance to stand on this platform that Lindsay has built here and share my thoughts, and I appreciate you for reading and following along.

My hope is that you are able to pick up some nuggets that you can apply to whatever it is that you’re doing, whether it be building a business, a blog, a non-profit, or a career. Or maybe you learn something that just generally helps you out in your day-to-day life. Or maybe you just like to look at the income totals and leave.

Whatever it is, I hope you find something in these reports that’s helpful, informative, or motivating.

We’ve been working on Pinch of Yum for almost seven years now, which is like 35 in internet years. Need some context? We started POY BS (before Snapchat). Snapchat is a perfect example of how quickly things can be built online.

We’re a bit different than insanely fast growing companies like Snapchat. We’re all about slow, steady, and consistent. All of the numbers we share should be viewed with the understanding that it took seven years to get here, and the entire time we had two people (and now a bigger team with full-time staff) working to build this thing.

It’s taken lots of work, lots of time, lots of patience, and a little bit of luck (it’s always a factor).

The story of Pinch of Yum is not the usual story you hear when it comes to internet based businesses. The common story you hear is the rocket-fuel-powered-overnight-success-story business. But the slow-and-steady-growth-over-a-long-period-of-time type of company is more common than you’d think. It’s just that it’s boring to read about, or share with your friends about, which is why you rarely hear about these types of companies.

But don’t get confused and think that slow and steady means not taking action or not boldly moving forward. Daily action is critical.

The ultimate growth equation looks like something like this:

Action x Improvement x Time x Luck = Amount of Growth

This isn’t just for blogging or business. It’s a life equation. It can apply to your health, your spirituality, your relationships…

The more you increase any of those variables the more growth you’ll have. Increase them all and you’ll be in really good shape!

Sure, it’s not really possible to “increase your luck,” but what you’ll find is that the more action, improvement, and time you put in then the greater the impact a moment of luck will have on your growth.

What else would you add to that growth equation? I’d love to know in the comments below.

Let’s jump into the numbers for November…

Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links. All of the products listed below are products and services we’ve used before. If you have any questions about any of the income or expenses, you can leave a comment and we’ll do our best to reply.

Income

• AdThrive – $52,313.13
• Sponsored Content – $22,400.00
• Bluehost – $5,175 –> this income comes from a page where we show people how to start a food blog in three steps.
• Amazon Associates – $4,753.49
• Swoop – $3,153.66
• AdThrive Video – $2,966.49
• Tasty Food Photography – $2,296.80
• Gourmet Ads – $1,280.31
• sovrn – $369.43
• How to Monetize Your Food Blog eBook – $160.00
• Genesis Theme – $139.85
• Elegant Themes – $124.00
• ActiveCampaign – $50.78
• AWeber – $14.40

Expenses

• Staff, Salary, and Contractors – $19,627.96
• Studio Related Expenses – $3,735.89
• Food Expenses – $1,587.57
• Apple – $1,210.76
• Travel – $628.66
• eBook Affiliates – $502.25
• Domains (GoDaddy) and Hosting (Media Temple) – $354.98
• Amazon and Other Misc. – $300.89
• PayPal Fees – $138.49
• Insurance – $99.17
• Adobe Creative Cloud – $64.58
• Software and Apps – $52.64
• Amazon S3 and Cloudfront – $38.11
• PayPal Website Payments Pro – $30.00
• Hotjar – $29.00
• GitHub – $25.00
• CloudFlare – $20.00
• CrashPlan – $19.98
• Shoeboxed – $12.35
• Backupify – $12.00
• Link In Profile – $9.99
• BoardBooster – $5.00

Traffic Totals

Below are some Google Analytics screenshots from the month of November 2016.

Traffic Overview

Top Ten Traffic Sources

Mobile vs. Desktop vs. Tablet

November and Quarter 4

November is one of the best months for a food blog, especially a blog like Pinch of Yum that’s monetized through ads, affiliate earnings, and sponsored content.

November is a shining star for two reasons:

1. It’s a high traffic month for food related content
2. Quarter four advertising budgets (i.e. buy buy buy!)

A high traffic month for food related content

If you have a food blog, or any content based website for that matter, you know that there are seasonal ups and downs when it comes to your traffic throughout the year.

For a blog like Pinch of Yum, we see an uptick in traffic in November, December, and January. November and December are due to the holidays, with November being a bit better than December. January’s uptick is a result of everyone having a newly found (or renewed) passion for healthy eating. January tends to be the highest traffic month of the year for us.

Here’s a screenshot that shows the traffic for Pinch of Yum over the last five years. The blue dots on the line pinpoint November of each year. You can see there’s usually an uptick in November, a slight drop in December, and then a big jump in January.

I’m curious to know: Do the up and down traffic patterns on your blog look similar, with the highest traffic months happening in November and January? Or do you focus on another niche that has completely different seasonal ups and downs? Let us know in the comment section below.

Quarter Four Advertising Budgets: buy buy buy!

When you look at that screenshot above you can see that there’s more traffic in January than in November. So why is November a better month than January when it comes to advertising and affiliate income?

It comes down to quarter four advertising budgets and the purchasing mindset that exists in November.

When I say quarter four I’m referring to the fourth quarter of the year, which includes October, November, and December. It’s also commonly referred to as Q4, which I’ll use for the rest of this post.

PR agencies, ad agencies, and businesses in general traditionally spend the most money in Q4 when compared to other quarters throughout the year.

Why?

Two big reasons:

1. Marketing departments don’t want to have a bunch of money left over in their advertising budget for the year, so if there’s any remaining money to spend they need to spend it in Q4.
2. For many businesses, spending money in Q4 is most effective because people have a purchasing mindset. Think Black Friday, Cyber Monday, shopping for Christmas presents, etc… General theme = buy buy buy!

The combination of increased traffic along with increased ad spend results in November being one of the highest earning months of the year for a blog like Pinch of Yum.

The purchasing mindset also impacts the success of affiliate marketing, which is the reason why you see lots of holiday gift guides (like this one that Lindsay published) and other types of “here’s something you can buy today” type of posts.

The basic idea: Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are all happening within five days of each other.

Those five days are the sweet spot for a recipe blog that monetizes through ads and affiliate marketing.

Discovering emails with Hunter.io

I’ve been doing a little bit of cold emailing lately and have been trying to find an effective way to discover contact info. I’ve found a super slick solution in using hunter.io.

It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn good. For instance, here are the results for Pinch of Yum:

I installed the Chrome extension after signing up for a free trial. It’s a fun and easy-to-use tool.

I hope you find it helpful!

I’ll pass the virtual mic over to Lindsay.

Lindsay, take it away!

Looking to 2017

Hey everyone! Fancy meeting you here.

Maybe this goes without saying, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what next year will look like. We’re moving into our seventh year of running this blog, we’re managing an amazing team for both POY and FBP, we’re raising a sometimes lazy but mostly awesome fur baby, and most importantly, we’re preparing to welcome a HUMAN baby into our lives. ♡

As I look ahead to this year, I see myself focusing on just two big, lofty goals:

• Staying creatively engaged;
• Being present with and for our baby.

It’s a mindset shift that’s driving a shift in my methods and practices. Here are some of the ways that Pinch of Yum will change in 2017 as a result:

1. Less sponsored blog posts. We have worked with some incredible brand partners over the last 2-3-4 years and I truly appreciate partnering with brands and what that means for our ability to grow and operate the business. How-ev-er. If my goal is to stay creatively engaged and find the time to be present with our baby, I know I can’t keep working with brands at the same rate that I’ve been doing in the last 6 months. I naively bit off more than I could chew with a handful of projects this fall and felt uninspired in the process. My hope is that 2017 will include only the occasional brand partnerships for blog posts – we’re thinking two per month at most – with brands that we love to the moon and back.
2. Scheduling in advance. I am notoriously bad about waiting until the last minute to do things. It’s a glaring personal flaw. Or strength? There’s gotta be a strength in that somewhere, right? My plan for 2017 is to have all content drafted in advance of the publish date. Not, like, YEARS in advance. Just a day or two – so there’s no scrambling to get stuff done the morning that a post is going out. If I can pull this one off, I’d have all content scheduled out to publish at 4am. And I chose 4am because I know I would never get up at 4am to finish writing posts, so this will force me to get things done in advance and keep my mental clutter at a minimum. Sneaky, huh?
3. Two posts per week. Yep – two recipes instead of three. My hope with this is quality over quantity – that it gives way to more inspired, more intentional, and more satisfying recipes and photos. Also: it gives me more time for baby snuggles in between. See: goals.
4. New content series: I’m nervously working on a brand new type of content for the blog in 2017 – I am totally freaked out about it and also very excited. It has to do with people and stories and impact and it feels like more of my heart than I’ve ever really let come through on the blog before. That first goal? Staying creatively engaged? That isn’t just about recipes. It’s about keeping my whole heart and my whole self in the game of “blogging” so that in five years I can look back and say: wow, I feel really good about that. That blog thing was exactly what it was supposed to be. And as I got really brutally honest with myself these last six months, I realized that getting there, for me, required making some changes. Change is always scary, and maybe a few people will leave in the process, but I can’t be satisfied in the long term by pretending that recipes are the end-all-be-all of what I want my life to be about. Stay tuned! Or actually, don’t. I’m kind of nervous so maybe just let me publish the first one without anyone looking.

It’s because of you that this thing we call Pinch of Yum can exist as it does today. Thank you so much for making these recipes, leaving comments with your love and feedback, sending emails, following on social media, and sharing this food around the table with your families and friends.

Every month we donate a portion of Pinch of Yum’s income to non-profit or foundation that’s near to our heart. This month we’re donating to the Children’s Shelter of Cebu and helping to fund their budget for daily meals.

The post November Traffic and Income Report appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

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101 Pictures of Our Trip to Europe. Literally.

We knew the inappropriately long picture overload had to come at some point, right?

The fact that I packed (literally) 101 pictures into this one single post is either really seriously awesome orrr really annoying. You can vote in the comments – JUST KIDDING, you will never even make it to the comments because you’d have to scroll for 50 years! joke’s on you!

I guess I decided to pack these all into one just in the name of efficiency. Might as well make this a one-stop-Europe-picture-post-stop, and might as be sitting on my couch in maternity leggings while making it happen. I just said MATERNITY LEGGINGS. This is now a thing in my life and I am not mad about it.

 

Our itinerary for this trip was pretty straightforward.

• Days 1-7 – France:Viking River Cruise!
• Days 7-10 – Switzerland: exploring Lucerne and region on our own
• Days 10-12 – Germany: exploring Munich and region on our own

Basic and easy. Three countries, 12 days. Plenty of time and opportunity to take great pictures with the iPhone 7 plus because YES THIS WHOLE POST IS PICTURES FROM MY PHONE. I’m not freaking out about it, you’re freaking out about it.

Are you sure you’re ready for this?

Here’s the only picture we have of the two of us on our Viking cruise ship, because guess what?

OUR CRUISE NEVER SET SAIL.

And I don’t even mean that in a sad way. The funny thing about this semi-large and seemingly deal-breaker detail is that, strangely enough, it really wasn’t a big deal at all. The river was just too high for us to sail on, so we spent our week with Viking getting off and on the docked ship in Avignon, taking bus tours to the cities on our itinerary, and eventually transferring to (super nice) hotels as needed.

The one area I was most sad about missing out on was all the amazing food. This is not your normal cruise ship food, friends. The food that we had in our short two days on board was just 100% incredible and didn’t even hold a tiny candle next to some of the hotel food that followed.

(Pictured here: my self-created “taste of Provence” plate w ratatouille, green olives for days, marinated tomatoes and mozz salad, herbed potatoes, pickled cabbage salad, roasted chicken, and several large shavings of the best cheese that has ever touched my lips. I *might* be pregnant.)

A few people have asked questions about Viking cruises via email and in blog and social comments, and I’m so glad you’re asking! Here are my quick answers to those questions:

Were you the youngest ones on the ship? Yes, for sure. We did find 2-3 kindred youngins (aka 30-somethings – hi Lily! ) traveling with parents, and a few couples who’d hit the 40-50’s mark, but for the most part, this is a 55+ crowd.

If it’s 55+, would you recommend the experience to other young people? Yes, in a heartbeat. This is not going to be everyone’s thing, for sure. BUT. Viking cruises are such a good fit for people (all ages) who want to see the BEST of the world without spending hours upon hours planning and preparing, figuring out all the details, and stressing about the logistics of international travel. I say: SIGN ME UP.

What was the best thing about the cruise? Tours, food, cities… but mostly the mental freedom. We loved just looking at the itinerary to see where we’d be going the next day and knowing that Viking would be taking us to all the best spots. There was ZERO need for scrambling on our part to research, plan, or prepare. It was kind of like being at summer camp – you just go along for the ride and let someone else lead, knowing it will be awesome, rather than having to make lots of small decisions at every turn. I know it sounds cheesy, but I feel like our minds really got a chance to relax and actually take in the surroundings because of that mental freedom.

Even when the surroundings included a flooded river.

Other Viking highlights: tour bus! we secretly loved it.

Beautifully decorated ship.

Cozy, luxurious room that did not feel cruise-ship chintzy.

Hot chocolate, coffee, and cookie bar at all hours, thank you very much.

Here’s my excited-to-be-in-France-even-when-it’s-raining look.

And soon after, here’s my almost-passed-out-on-a-tour-and-now-cramming-a-Larabar look. Special times brought to you by dehydration, jetlag, and pregnancy.

Photo credit: Bjork Ostrom.

CREPES CREPES CREPES CREPES CREPES CREPES

Cucumber juice? France is so cool.

Sitting outside the Palais des Papes with Bjork one night, sipping hot chocolate at a cafe, watching people walk by in the plaza. Everything about it was so charmed.

Such a sweet forever memory. ♡

Just reminding you THESE PHOTOS WERE ALL TAKEN WITH MY PHONE. K, not freaking out.

Our amazing hotel in Lyon which gifted me with my life’s most luscious robe and the softest scrambled eggs I’ve ever eaten. The Carlton Hotel is a winner. Good pick, Viking.

Crepes back on the scene.

French Onion Soup from a darling little Lyonnaise Bouchon. Obvi.

oh hai again crepes

Meet Lily and Alice! The perks of going on a cruise = meeting new friends.

Before we can appreciate the beauty of Switzerland, we need to appreciate the beauty of my husband carrying both of our 50 lb. suitcases up the stairs of the train station LIT-ER-ALLY one minute before our train departed for Geneva.

It was 0% stressful.

Thanks beeb.

Our Airbnb in Lucerne was basically a legit tiny house it was GOALS in every way. Also included many petting sessions with James the most awesome Swiss dog.

Things I loved about Switzerland: the food (lots of variety and for whatever reason I felt like we found some of our best food here), the weather (crisp and sunny), the views (!!), and the ability to finally wear my Swiss outfit that was definitely not cool enough for France but totally fit the vibe in Switzy.

Just want you to know: those are curry-spiced beet fritters. ❤️

Basic with a capital B, but this magical sandwich of plain bread, mozzarella, fresh tomato, basil, and aioli eaten on a train through Switzerland will be a forever memory for me. It was a moment of pure Swiss bliss.

A boat trip around Lake Lucerne at sunset. Extremely cold, crisp, and clear views of one of the most beautiful countries in the world with my winter boy by my side. Couldn’t have been better.

On the way up and not even nervous.

This whole day at the top of Mount Pilatus is a forever memory. The panoramic views were just… I have never seen anything like it. I remember being up at the top and thinking: someday soon I’ll be back and home and this will all just seem like a dream. True dat. But it was such an incredible dream for those few hours while it lasted. I think for both Bjork and I, this was our favorite experience of the trip.

Germany actually started in Austria, with an adorable hostel (Hotel Tannenhof) and a rental car and a plan to visit the castles.

Spaetzle, sauerkraut, and bacon at the Christmas Market. Words cannot describe how good this was.

That is the last picture I have of Bjork for the whole trip, because a mystery virus slash food poisoning took him down and out for the remaining 36 hours of the trip. And when I say down and out, I mean literally did.not.get.out.of.bed. for 36 hours. I cannot even sugarcoat it for you – it was a pretty depressing way to end the trip.

I spent the rest of the trip by myself, walking around Christmas Markets and taking half-hearted pictures and eating warm cinnamon almonds. It was better than being sick, but dang. Life’s less fun without my travel buddy.

Which brings us to my last forever memory of the trip – The Last Dinner – which involved me going out solo to a restaurant to have dinner, but getting so emotional when they brought me to my table for one in such a beautiful, candle-lit restaurant that I actually had to leave so as not to openly cry like a pregnant fool at my table (“no, I’m sorry, just a change of plans”). I went back up to the room where I proceeded to ordered room service pizza and eat it next to the bed that Bjork, still, 36 hours later, had not gotten out of.

We will laugh about it someday. Just give us 20 years.

What a trip, you guys.

It was so phenomenal. It ended on a bittersweet note, but the other 11 out of 12 days were all absolutely five-star awesome.

Most so than other trips we’ve taken, I just have so many feelings about this trip – most notably a feeling of deep gratitude that we were able to knock off such a huge travel experience and spend such meaningful time together as we bring our just-the-two-of-us chapter in our lives to a close. It makes me feel weepy. I’m not hormonal at all tho.

The world is so amazing, and now, the big question for all of us, you and me — where to next? ✈️

I mean, it’s probably not even hard to take a baby along on international adventures, right?

Shout out to Viking Cruises for hosting us, Mom and Dad for watching the Sagey Girl, and YOU for your excellent recommendations which I studied and took notes on using a pen and a napkin on the train. You guys are the best. ♡

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