I was reading GOOP - See this morning and thought it might be interesting to do a similar thing—a day in the life kind of post with what I typically do on a weekend day in and around Annapolis.

The reason I want to put this out there too is to encourage you to copy me and take the little banners I’ve created below and do your own Day In The Life post so that friends or readers can discover something or somewhere new!

The first thing I do in the morning is check my email and do a quick perusal of a few websites and blogs. Since we’re turning my office into the nursery, we had to find a place for me to work! We got a smaller desk and tucked it into a corner of our living room by the stairs. I actually like the cozier space!

I typically check in with the blogs on my Blogroll/Tumblr Dashboard, as well as a host of other blogs and websites that I keep tidy on Bloglovin’.

After that, I check the Target Weekly Ad to see if there are any deals I need want to take advantage of. If I have time, I’ll also look through the coupons and fliers in the newspaper.

Once that’s done, I flip through my cookbooks or check Epicurious or the Pioneer Woman and assemble the week’s meals in my MomAgenda planner. I like to do all my grocery shopping on the weekend (Sunday, preferably), but will push it back to Monday evening if I run out of time. To help simplify my grocery shopping, I like to figure out what I’m going to cook and I then list the ingredients that I need using my Real Simple Grocery List. I’m an efficient grocery shopper and I don’t like to browse. I go section by section to avoid backtracking too.

I like to get a weekend copy of The Washington Post too. Brandon and I split up the sections and read them over breakfast. Which brings me to…

Typically, I need to get caffeine into my system as quickly as possible, but since I’m pregnant, the goal is just to get caffeine into Brandon’s system as quickly as possible and I settle for decaf or OJ or tea.

The Hazelnut Decaf from Green Mountain Coffee ain’t bad, but what I really want is a decaf Northern Lite Latte from Caribou Coffee.

If I don’t cook breakfast/brunch at home, we love to go to a small local spot: The Breakfast Shoppe. We first heard about it on NPR, and when we discovered it was within easy driving distance, we went at the first opportunity. It’s crazy good breakfast food. (And the best pancakes I’ve maybe ever had.)

I like to squeeze in a workout if I can, but I’ve had to dial it back the past few months. I like to either walk outside (with or without Milo), head to the gym or pop in a prenatal yoga DVD.

I enjoy using the equipment at the gym because I can read my Kindle while I walk. (Lazy?)

While I’m running errands in the fall, I wear some version of this every time. Comfy jeans, a chunky sweater, scarf and boots would be my uniform year round if I could get away with it.

Some of my favorite places to shop:

• Annapolis Farmer’s Market - I like to buy fresh things from the farmer’s market, then use Epicurious or MyRecipes.com to find dishes that work with what I have.
• Goodwill
• Home Goods - I buy more home decor and kitchen goods here than anywhere else.
• Bennett & Company - Pricey, but I love getting inspiration from their pieces.
• Pottery Barn Kids - Now I have an excuse to shop here!
• Arundel Mills Mall - I actually hate shopping here (huge, crowded, weird mix of people & tourists), but I love the outlet prices. Quandary!
• New To You
• Regal Rags
• Urban Chic
• Madison

We have a few dinner favorites that we rotate over and over. I admit that we get stuck in Favorite Restaurant Rut, but it’s easy to do when these places are so satisfying.

• Lemongrass - I love the small Annapolis location.
• Sly Horse Tavern - This was on LivingSocial today! I was happy to see it there.
• Kaufmann’s - Standard steakhouse fare, but with some good seafood options. (Crab dip, anyone?)
• Mike’s Crab House - I love the location on the water and the paper-covered tables and the Old Bay-covered crabs and everything about it.
• Monterey - A blink and you miss it Mexican restaurant that is cheap and so, so good.
• Cantler’s - A popular Annapolis place.
• Ram’s Head Tavern - There are several of these scattered around Maryland and the ones I’ve been to have good, tasty food.
• The Greene Turtle - This is another Maryland-originated chain, but it’s a great casual spot to meet friends and eat unhealthy wings and such. 
• Annapolis Waterfront - The downtown Annapolis waterfront has lots of dining options—all fairly good. Annapolis food has really improved in the last several years (i.e., expanded beyond crab dishes/crabs and raw bars) and that’s exciting to see. 

If you want to come explore the area, I can recommend no better hotel than the Westin Annapolis. It’s a relatively new location with gorgeous rooms, good food close by and it’s also within walking or biking distance of the downtown waterfront.

So how about you? What’s a day in your life like?

This weekend, Brandon surprised me with a “Congratulations!” present to beat all presents. As you’ve probably noticed, we don’t often spoil ourselves, but either by necessity or by virtue of our “let’s wait!” nature, we end up saving such moments for when we really, really need it.

So, onto the surprise. Brandon booked me a massage at the Varuna Aveda Salon in Annapolis (about 20 minutes from our house) and deposited me at the door, unwaxed eyebrows and about 3 weeks overdue for a nail polish change not withstanding. I’m always a bit shy about massages. I get a little anxious thinking about the intimacy of a stranger touching me in such a wonderful, relaxing way, but my therapist—Kelly, was her name, if you decide to go visit yourself—was unbelievable. So kind, so understanding, so very talented.

Let me say a few words about the salon first. They offered me water or tea before I could even check in, invited me to sit and made me feel welcome and comfortable—even though the salon was busy and they had their hands full (ha, a pun) with customers. Also—the salon is incredibly clean. No hair on the floor (a pet peeve of mine) and the whole place smells of lemon, lime, lavender—all the familiar Aveda product smells, if you’ve ever used them.

Back to the massage: like I said, I get fairly anxious about massages which may explain why this was only my second (yes, second) massage ever. The first was a gift from my sister right before my wedding and this—a gift from Brandon—was my second. And it was knocked-my-socks-off, wanted-to-cry amazing. Kelly was a miracle-worker and it was so incredibly selfless and wonderful of Brandon to do this for me.

If you are interested in visiting the salon, it is located right beside the Westin Annapolis off West Street. Parking is available below the hotel at an hourly rate. I had the Elemental Nature Massage, which incorporates deep-tissue techniques with aromatherapy.