Hi Friends! How are you all doing? We had the best weekend with my sister and her husband who were here for the Austin Marathon. My sister ran the half and my brother-in-law ran the full and he placed 189 out of 2766 people. Humble brag ;) I’m so inspired by them and hope to run another half in the near future and a *possibly* a marathon down the road. We also ate at one of my favorite restaurants Uchiko and had a lazy Saturday soaking up the gorgeous sunshine and perfect weather. It was a wonderful weekend!
I’ve been inspired to start a new series here on the blog. I feel like I have so many random thoughts and ideas running through my mind that it would be nice to have a little place to store them. So I’m starting a series called ‘The Coffee Read’ for you to sit down and pour over with a cup of coffee that might be worth bookmarking if anything stands out to you. It’s going to feel a little bit similar to my previous Tuesday Five series but incorporate a lot more. I like the idea of just sharing anything that’s inspiring me and anything else going on in my life lately!
The pictures below are of a dress that gives me all the Spring feels, visiting the Dinosaur Park in Bastrop with our kids, a snap of Park City where Eric and I skiied a few weeks ago, the Ballooms we had installed for McKenna’s 3rd birthday, her “Young Wild and Three” cookies, and a champagne bottle I recently painted for a wedding. Keep scrolling for my first Coffee Read!
Kids Kids Kids. My Life. My Little Humans. They will take up the majority of the inspiration of this post and I’m not mad about it! Let’s get to it.
- So I have this totally new random trick I’ve been using to get my kids to try new food. Coming from a mom whose child won’t touch pizza or mac n cheese, I think this is pretty savvy ;) It started when we bought Praeger’s “Spinach Littles” which are essentially these dinosaur shaped nuggets made of spinach and potatoes. I would pick up the dinosaur and sing “I’m a little dinosaur and I’m just walking around and I hope nobody bites my head or tail off” and what do you know, my picky eater goes in for the chomp and giggle. Now I’ve transitioned this game to other foods and pretended to be anything from a bat going home to its cave to a character from Paw Patrol and my kids are hooked on “the game”… Occasionally a bite gets spit out but I’ve literally gotten my child to eat all sorts of vegetables and meat and I’m so proud!
2. I’ve been asked about pool safety since we have a pool at our home and I will say two things. One: we have a gated fence that cannot open unless you open it from the top and my kids are way too small to open it. Two: I had them in swimming lessons at 15-18 months and both my toddlers are swimming. Because we have a pool, we practice almost every day in the summer. Whenever we have friends over, we assign one adult to each child to make sure they are always being watched.
3. Have you heard of Hey Clay? A friend just gave it to McKenna for her birthday and we had so much fun one afternoon crafting little animals in our backyard. It’s like playdough but better. Way less messy and they are meant to be dried. There are a few idea boxes and we are doing the Dinosaur one next!
4. I have been a little overwhelmed with parenting lately. My strong willed children really love testing boundaries, especially together. I love the Calm Parenting Podcast by Kirk Martin and my girlfriends just recommended I try Raising Boys and Girls.
5. We are gearing up for our annual bluebonnet photos as well as a fun vignette session with Candid Chic Photography this Spring. We bought the boys outfits to bring out their blue eyes and McKenna dresses from this beautiful brand made in Spain called La Coqueta. The brand was established by a mother of 5 and has a very traditional feel with beautiful prints and fabrics. They are expensive but when you are excited about special photographs you’ll have framed forever, well- then it’s totally worth it in my book.
6. I am currently reading Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly and it’s a historical fiction book that takes place during the Civil War. The next book I have on my list is The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris but I might need something light in between these books.
7. I’ve been spending a lot of time trying new recipes and finally bought a Defined Dish Cookbook. I love that the majority of her recipes in this book are whole30/paleo friendly!
8. My dress above is by Hunter Bell NYC and is part of their Spring collection. I’m wearing a size 6!
- I have Spring Fever and all of these outfits are giving me the warm weather vacay vibes. Which is your favorite?
Hopefully this series is fun and different and you enjoy it! xox
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