Roscoe Village Halloween Parade

On Sunday in celebration of Halloween, we joined some of our Chicago friends at Roscoe Village's Halloween Parade. It was a cute little parade located on Roscoe where there was a local high school marching band, and a good group of kids and parents dressed to the "Halloween nines"! I was very impressed by how imaginative these kids and parents were: handmade Monopoly boy, strollers turned into pirate ships or fighter planes, dogs as county sheriffs, the singer from Led Zepplin, etc.  If I go next year I'll make sure I join the Halloween fun and dress up too. After the parade, the kids can trick or treat at the stores on Roscoe, take pictures at set up booths, and in general have fun! It's a Halloween event to keep in mind for following years. :)

XOXO, MiddleCoast

Apple River Canyon State Park

Apple River Canyon State Park 

The other weekend we were lucky enough to make a short road trip out to Apple River Canyon State Park. It's located in Apple River, Illinois which is nearby Galena, Illinois (a cute and very historic town on the border of Illinois and Iowa). Considering how close we were to Iowa we swung through Dubuque, Iowa.

Apple River state park was very beautiful this time of year! Most trees still had their colorful leaves although the trails were covered in golden or red fallen leaves. There are a few short trails that vary in terrain whether its smooth dirt or rocky. We brought our hiking pack to carry Zooey (she wouldn't have been able to walk the trails we were on), and a yummy picnic for afterwards. Zooey loved running around at the end, kicking the leaves around, making leaf piles, and watching the river. They also have an excellent campground that we will take advantage of in the future! Many campgrounds today seem to be overrun by RV's which make it uncomfortable for camping in a tent. Each spot for
camping seemed private with plenty of room, and is in a great location considering you have the fantastic trails and Galena nearby.

Zooey's Hiking Pack

After hiking we headed out to Galena where we mainly just window shopped, got drinks and a snack at Rendezvous Coffee & Tea, and a bottle of wine to save for post-baby from Galena Cellars. Galena, by the way, has many vineyards, bed and breakfasts, and resorts which would make for a very romantic getaway (David and I are keeping it in mind for later)! After Galena we swung through Dubuque, Iowa considering how close it is to Galena. We didn't do anything while we were there but drive around and get a feel for the town. Personally, I think the highlights would be visiting their art museum and their aquarium.

Zooey kicking the leaves

Overall, it was a fun fall road trip, and I look forward to making Midwest Living always has plenty of great ideas!
many more in the future!

3 1/2 Month Run

3 1/2 Month and Jogging

Inspired by the Chicago Marathon (and my friends who ran it) last Sunday, I decided to hit the trail for the first time in almost 4 months with David and Zooey. Since this was my first run in a while I decided to take it easy. I started out with light stretching that my body ached for, walked as a warm up (to the trail), and once we got there we started light jogging. I was rather surprised how quickly my lungs burned, but David reminded me that I haven't had to breathe so deeply in a while. The loop we did totaled a 5k mixed with jogging and walking. I ended with stretching and basic strength exercises for my hips, glutes, and quads. Overall I was proud of what I accomplished, and looking forward to future strides and still hoping for that November 5k!

The day after my run I had my monthly check up with my OB GYN and double checked that I'm approved for jogging. He seemed happy that I was feeling well enough to even consider the idea (haha), and said of course but to check my pulse every once and a while to make sure I don't go over 140 beats per minute. Good to know!

xoxo, MiddleCoast

Running for Two

Hello 2nd trimester! I'm at 14 weeks as of yesterday, and I'm still slowly starting to feel better. With my first, Zooey, I started feeling better around 14 weeks and felt a lot better by 16. So I keep telling myself, any day now... Any day now.

Recently, every morning when I wake up, my body is just aching to be stretched and used either by yoga or running. In fact the other night I had a dream about running, and it felt wonderful. Since then I've been daydreaming about ways I can use free weights and easy yoga and running sessions. Today, it struck me that my OB GYN has always said that exercise is great during pregnancy and that they encourage it, and since I am a runner, I can continue running as long as I feel comfortable. So I've been a little tempted to run a 5k event this fall before it gets too awkward feeling to run (not to mention the upcoming winter). I'll keep you posted if I do sign up and run a 5k!

In the mean time, I found a cute running mommy blog that is encouraging, and a cute maternity workout gear site for all kinds of pregnancy goodies! 

If any of my lovely readers has experience running while pregnant please share your experiences! I'd be happy to hear!

XOXO, MiddleCoast

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Yesterday my Aunt and parents were coming over to visit so I decided to try a new chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe. I followed the recipe from the wonderful cooking blog Sally's Baking Addiction, but for a couple minor adjustments. Instead of regular flour I switched it to whole wheat flour. Instead of using the full amount of vegetable oil, I did a splash of it and did a spoon of organic butter. Lastly, I sprinkled chocolate chips on the top as well. The bread came out perfectly moist, flavorful, and delicious. I know this recipe is a keeper!


Let me know if you try this recipe and what you think!

Happy Baking! xoxo MiddleCoastMommy