Album of the week: One Step Closer by The Doobie Brothers.
Music is essential, which is one of the many reasons I’m happy that Ryan is able to stay at home with Jett on the weekdays… He’s so good about taking time out to listen. Often times, I forget, or am lazy (And therefore will just switch to a Sirius/XM channel on the TV… Which counts, I suppose). Ryan is good about exposing Jett to some good ol’ vinyl, though.
Nice.
Birchbox time!
This month, Birchbox partnered with goop.com, which I was very excited about, as I love all things Gwyneth/goop! The people at goop always feature the best products, so I was looking forward to getting some samples of luxe products.
And while they didn’t disappoint, my box was a tad on the thin side.
Here’s what I got:
DDF® Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer Moisturizing Serum
beautyblender®
LUNA Bar
Chantecaille Brilliant Gloss
Marie Veronique Organics Anti-Aging Oil +
So far I’m loving the serum, oil and beautyblender. Currently I’m just using bb cream (no foundation/powder), so I wondered if the beautyblender would really make a difference… I’m really liking it, though - it really seems to blend the makeup well, and it’s super soft. It works nicely when it’s damp, too.
Oh… And the LUNA bar was yummy, too. I figured that wouldn’t last long. :)
One other thing… I ordered some Boscia bb cream from birchbox.com last week, yet by Friday it still hasn’t shipped. I emailed to inquire about it, an they apologized for the delay and gave me 100 Birchbox points (which is $10 to use on any full-size product). It shows that it doesn’t hurt I speak up!
DIY/Update
Our 1925 house was “renovated” before we bought it. And I use that term loosely, as all of the “renovations” seem to have been done as cheaply as possible. So, after four years in the place (We actually closed on the house four years ago today… Crazy!), its not surprising that we need to make some updates.
For instance, the sink. The “renovators” clearly chose the cheapest faucet they could find at Home Depot. So, four years later, it seemed to have come loose somehow, and after checking out the situation, Ryan discovered that the screws were actually stripped.
So, off to Home Depot Ryan went! And while we didn’t get the cheapest faucet, we also didn’t get the fanciest, either. We wanted it to fit into our kitchen nicely but also add a little flair.
And luckily my handyman of a hubby had the whole project completed (including the HD trip!) in just a couple hours.
We are pretty happy with the upgrade… It was easy, and fairly inexpensive, yet prettys up the kitchen a bit!
Now we can move onto the other “renovations”… Like the doors, the bathroom cabinets, the upstairs shower and the counters. Who knows if we will actually get to all of those projects, though. Baby steps…
:)
A quick tip for y’all…
Did you know that there are quite a few full-length workout videos on YouTube?!
Well, I didn’t… Until this week. Thanks to my aching back, I’ve been slowly getting myself back into a workout routine. And thanks to YouTube, I’ve been getting up bright and early with my ol’ pal Denise (pictured above).
If you want a good video to start with, I’d recommend the one I’ve been doing this week: Denise Austin’s Yoga Cardio Burn. It’s semi intense, but nice and quick, clocking in at just over 20 minutes.
And I swear its helping my back! Go yoga!
For the past year and a half or so, I’ve slowly green-ified my life. From cleaners to toothpaste to tortilla chips… The closer to nature the better, in my opinion. (OK, and maybe I’m a little paranoid when it comes to chemicals/poisons/contaminants… Whatever.)
One thing that’s been hard to find is a suitable shampoo that I like. I haven’t tried a TON, but a lot of the “natural” shampoos either don’t suds enough, leave my hair looking dull, or just don’t clean as well as I think they should.
However, I think I’ve found it… Yes to Carrots! Their shampoo is awesome… Nice scent, plenty of suds, and it leaves my hair clean and shiny. Plus, it doesn’t contain any nasty parabens, and the company employs many sustainable practices. So, it’s really a win-win.
Yay for clean, eco-friendly hair!
:)
Whole wheat pancakes!
Since Jett is starting to eat more “big boy” foods, I’ve been on the lookout for simple, healthy and tasty recipes. I knew whole wheat pancakes would be great, since he could eat the by themselves (cut into tiny pieces, of course), or I could top them with a little applesauce or mashed banana.
These can be frozen and taken out one (or two) at a time for breakfast, lunch or dinner (for baby or his parents!).
Here’s a super simple recipe I found on cooks.com:
QUICK MIX WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Stir together dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk, and oil. Stir until dry ingredients are moistened (batter may be lumpy). Cook on preheated griddle until bubbles form and edges start to dry. Flip and cook until lightly browned.
Enjoy!
On Saturday, we ventured out to the Dyer Observatory in Brentwood to check out Bluebird on the Mountain. It’s pretty much what it sounds like… Bluebird Cafe transported to a beautiful outdoor setting. And it was lots of fun!
We packed a picnic of sandwiches, cheese, crackers and wine (And Pumpkin butter from Trader Joe’s… Can’t forget to mention that deliciousness that I discovered on Saturday morning!), bundled up Jett, and were on our way.
It was tons of fun even though it was a little rainy (and pretty chilly), so I can imagine how awesome it’d be on a nice and starry summer evening.
The songwriters of the night were great, too… They showcased their songs, which have been performed by artists like Darius Rucker and the Dixie Chicks. Most impressive was ‘I Hope You Dance’… It seems like everyone knows that song.
So yeah… Bluebird on the Mountain - so fun and SO Nashville. Love it.
Yesterday we had an adventure of the pumpkin patch variety…
We headed out to Lebanon for farm animals, a hay ride, some good ol’ country air… And pumpkins!
I’m not going to lie… As we pulled up and noticed there was only one other family at the farm, I wondered if we were going to be victims of vampires or zombies (Too many scary movies, perhaps?)… But alas, we survived. And not only did we survive, we had a good time, too!
I remember going to a pumpkin patch when I was a kid and having a blast, so I always knew that when I had children, I’d like to make it a tradition. And even though Jett might not remember this trip to the pumpkin patch when he’s older, he sure had fun seeing the animals and touching the pumpkins! Plus, it’s always nice for us city kids to take a trip out to the country every now and then.
So, if you’re thinking about taking a trip out to a pumpkin patch this year, do it! So fun and fall festive!
Nine months!
Now Jett is…
Crawling like a madman…
Laughing 24/7 (Srsly. Ryan brought him to his vision exam, and apparently Jett was cracking up as he read the letters!)…
Eating lots of “big boy” food (Like the lasagna he had last night!)…
Sleeping 11-12 hours, with maybe a quick wake-up sometime in the wee hours…
Taking 2 naps, ranging in length from 1/2 - 2 hours…
Loving his blocks and balls…
Splish-splashing in the sink during bath time…
Loving the dog and cat…
Making his mommy and daddy fall more in love with him each day!
Earlier today one of my friends asked me if I had short hair when I was little, because she noticed I was tagged in a picture on Facebook… She said the kid that was tagged as me looked like a boy, but like me in the face.
Which brings back memories. Traumatic ones.
Imagine me, as a 3rd grader, at The Lake of the Ozarks, swimming over to a group of girls around my age.
“You can’t swim with us! No boys aloud!” one of them shouted.
“But, wait… I’m a girl! Look, I have a girl bathing suit on!” I yelled back.
It didn’t matter what I said, though. Because of my haircut, they thought I was a boy, and therefore wouldn’t let me swim with them.
Jerks.
In my mother’s defense, I’m sure she thought that a cute, short cut would be perfect and cool for summer. And I’m sure I agreed.
I don’t think I’d cut my own daughter’s hair that short, though, since I’m still moderately traumatized by the lake event. Unless it was her idea.
LOL
We had some fun times this weekend!
Ryan and I went to Margot on Friday to celebrate our anniversary. It was fabulous, as we expected it would be!
On Saturday, Jett and I met some friends at the library for the Ellingtown puppet show. It was quite different than the mother goose puppet show, but Jett seemed to like all the sounds, puppets and shadows. After the show, we ran over to East Park to let the boys swing for a bit, which they loved!
On Sunday, we watched the sad Titans game, and then met Aunt Linny (pictured) at Dragon Park for some fun times with Crosby (the 3-year-old Linny watches). We hit up the swings again, and I’m starting to think Jett would just swing forever if I’d let him!
:)
Last night, Ryan and I watched this gem of a movie.
It was so whimsical and wonderful, just like Wes Anderson’s other movies. And while some of his others have taken awhile to get into (I need to give Rushmore another try… Maybe third time’s a charm?), this one had me at hello.
The main characters - Sam and Suzie - are great, but the long list of supporting roles (played by Bruce Willis, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman, to name a few) is super impressive too.
As we drove to Jett’s nine-month appointment this morning, I asked Ryan what he thought the point of the movie was. We both took away a couple things: That its good to keep perspective… Sometimes we can worry/focus on things that aren’t as important when you step back and look at the bigger picture. Also, we both felt like we could learn a thing or two from the kids in the movie. As adults we seem to loose that child-like wonder… And why? So we can focus more energy on adult-like things like finances and the six o’clock news? We have responsibilities, that’s for sure… But recapturing the wide-eyed wonder of youth is important, too.
Thanks for reminding us, Wes. :)
Trying to be more green/natural? We are too (Aren’t we all?!)!
That’s why I was thrilled to learn about a new website - vine.com!
It’s from the same company as diapers.com, so I already know I’ll love it. There are a ton of baby, household, grocery, etc. products on the site - and they’re all good for the environment (and us!).
Another cool thing about the site is that you can bundle products from its sister sites and save on shipping.
Party on!
I finally decided I was ready to let Jett sleep with a blanket last week. I bet he’s so comfy!
They say to keep blankets, etc., out of the crib until 1 year, but since Jett’s a pro at rolling/crawling/getting around in general, AND since we are still using the Angel Care motion sensor, I feel okay with it.
Plus it gets kinda cold at night these days!
Oh, and yes… He often sleeps with his head agains the side of the crib. Why does he do that?!
I’ve made a goal for myself… Cook four nights a week. And by “cook”, I mean “anything requiring more effort than opening a box of frozen pizza”.
So, on Saturday I came up with my meal plan… Chicken Parmesan, turkey tacos, burgers, and spaghetti with sausages… We can eat out or have leftovers the other three nights.
After making my shopping list, I decided what I could get at TJ’s, and what we’d need to get at Kroger. I absolutely love shopping at TJ’s - I find it more of a pleasure than a chore - but I also love using coupons at Kroger.
We went to TJ’s on Saturday morning, which is becoming quite a popular thing for us, and I figured we could pick up what we needed from Kroger sometime on Sunday.
But then it was so nice outside on Sunday, we decided to take a walk instead (see pic).
The end.
TGIF!
This photo says “I love puffs!” Yes folks, puffs! And Cheerios, and diced bananas, and yogurt melts, and…
We’ve entered the land of finger foods! He’s getting better with some textures, too (read: not vomiting when I give him a bite of a biscuit).
I’m actually moving into the phase of giving him a little of what I cook for us… Which has really made me think about what I make for dinner. A good thing for all of us, I suppose, as it’ll help us to make healthier choices… Baby steps!
I got my September Birchbox Monday (which was FOUR days after Ali got hers… I mean, we live 10 minutes away from each other… WTF?!)!
Despite my irritation at the late arrival, I was pleased to find some major goodies inside!
Here’s what I got:
kate spade - Twirl
Benefit - The POREfessional
twistband - hair tie
tili bag
Color Club nail polish in Status Update
boscia Soothing Cleansing Cream
I’ve tried all of them except the nail polish and tili bag… I absolutely love the cleansing cream… It leaves my skin feeling so moisturized! It’s almost as if I don’t need to use moisturizer after using it, but of course I do anyway (moisturizer is so important!)… The perfume is nice, and it almost has a hint of sun ripened raspberry at the beginning, which brings back wonderful youthful memories… The twistband is great (I don’t want to go back to using normal hair ties!)… The POREfessional seems great, too!
Very pleased with this month’s box! If you haven’t signed up already, do it! And use this link so I get points!
https://www.birchbox.com?raf=md48n
Yesterday we went bowling to celebrate Ryan’s birthday… So fun!
I think Jett had a pretty good time, too… He seemed to enjoy being passed around by everyone between turns bowling, and he was even comfortable enough to fall asleep toward the end of our outing.
So, bowling alleys seem to be one of those places where kids and grown ups alike can have a good time. Fun sights, sounds and faces for the kids + beer for the grown ups = one winning equation, it seems!
Today is a very special day… Ryan’s 35th birthday!
It’s hard to imagine that the guy was just 24 when I met him… Working at Barnes & Noble and living in Farmington. Now he’s a dad and has built quite an impressive musician’s resume.
The time really does fly, doesn’t it? The days are long but the years short… So true!
