I may have mentioned that the amount of time I'm spending in my bed has increased a lot during this pregnancy and my current mattress just wasn't cutting it.

While ol' lumpy and I were no longer getting along so well, I dreaded the whole process of buying a mattress at the store. Too many options and a somewhat less than open sales pitch really puts me off.  So when the lovely people at Leesa, a new online mattress company, asked me if I wanted to give their product a try, I jumped at the chance.



The Leesa mattress arrived on my doorstep in an unassuming box.  I was a little suspect of how a truly plush, comfy mattress could fit in there but I held off judgement.  Out it came and we laid it on our bed and cut open the plastic.   The sound of air rushing into that mattress was a hoot and within minutes, the mattress had plumped up to its full 10 inch size.  We were impressed.

The mattress is made up 3 different kinds of foam - dense core support, memory foam and a cooling top layer designed to keep you cool. It's all wrapped up in a seamless, pretty cover.  It's also super tempting for toddler jump parties!


But who cares all about that?  The proof is in the sleeping!  We only had had spring mattresses before and I was prepared for a small adjustment period to get used to the foam. Much to my shock, it took no time at all to adjust.  We've been sleeping like logs on it for a few weeks and I've really appreciated not waking up with a back ache each morning.  I've also noticed that because of the foam, we are less prone to wake each other up throughout the night so that's another big win.  So far, I love it and I'm so glad I made the switch!


As if that wasn't enough Leesa is doing good in the world by donating 1 new mattress for every 10 they sell so we can all sleep a little easier. Want to join me for a snooze?  The first 50 readers to redeem the promo code "BROOKLYN" will get $75 off your order!


disclosure: this post was sponsored by Leesa but all opinions expressed are my own.

MEATBALLS + POLENTA FAMIILY STYLE {Sponsored post}

I’m very fortunate to be married someone to makes killer Italian food.  Seriously, the best!  So I rarely bother to attempt Italian recipes myself as it’s hard to compete with the master. But when I saw this recipe for a recipe for Pork Meatballs and Polenta on Blue Apron,  my interest was piqued.  I had never made polenta before and figured it would make a good new skill to get under my cooking belt (OMG - so easy!  How did I not know this already??).  The added bonus is that it’s an ideal recipe for little hands to get involved. Agatha is at the perfect age to be super enthusiastic to “help”.  Sure, her “help" usually ends up making more mess than if I had done it myself, it still helps to have company in the kitchen that can think of nothing more exciting than adding ingredients to the bowl.  Maybe one day she will cook whole meals for me one day I’ll get back all that extra clean up time in spades. So back to the recipe.  This was one of the more simple ones I’ve tried from Blue Apron but delivered on teaching me a new skill and making a tasty meal for the family with limited time involved.  They also did something lots of Italian chefs would love to keep a secret - adding ricotta cheese into the meatball mix to make them fluffier.  You don’t really taste the cheese but they make a big different in the resulting ball.  Finally, I love how they elevated this simple dish with the addition of some fresh broccolini giving the rest of the dish a lightness you wouldn’t get with just meat and starch. The ingredients are wholesome and fresh and of course the best part - delivered straight to my doorstep with exactly the right ingredients.  No time wasted going to the grocery store and no food wasted by buying ingredients I wouldn’t use.

Prep is easy.  Chop up some garlic and parsley.  Boil the Broccolini for a few minutes before setting aside.  Make the polenta by simply adding the dry polenta into boiling water and adding butter at the end.  (Seriously - thats it!!)  Make the meatballs with the meat, cheese, parsley, breadcrumbs and herbs and sear.  Add crushed tomatoes to the pan and simmer until thickened.  Serve and enjoy.  Couldn’t be easier and mastering a new recipe makes me feel like a domestic goddess even if all the hard work was done for me!
I’m really looking forward to trying my hand at Greek food with this Chicken Souvlaki recipe and Northern Spain with this Baked Empanada recipe.

Want to give Blue Apron a try?  The first 50 readers will get two free meals on their first Blue Apron order.  Just click here. 

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Blue Apron but all opinions expressed are my own. 

Nine year blogiversary

Nine years ago this month (I have spent the whole year thinking it was 8 but I just did the math and gained a year!) we closed on the limestone and started this blog. I didn't know anything about blogging except that it would be a sort of forced diary for me.

It feels at once forever ago and yesterday.  You can read my first post here but this pretty sums it up...

Anticipating a day that we will actually live in this house and that the house be totally transformed, I'm starting this blog to chart the progress. Or lack thereof. When its all done, I'll look back on it and laugh at all the crazy times. You know, how the work finished early and under budget and better than we hoped. HA!

Well the work wasn't finished early or under budget it did finish and we do live here. Success!  We learned a lot (oh the irony of life experiences! no matter what the subject, you learn everything you need to know exactly after you needed to know it!) and practically killed each other but here we are. I won't pretend that I wish I was back there - life is much better now with working plumbing and heat! Nine years and counting.  Who knew I could be such a blabbermouth?