The Friday Five

Not going to lie … I am 100% stealing this concept from Studio McGee a la their “Sunday Seven.”  Essentially I’ll share 5 happenings, thoughts, ideas, and favorites of the week every Friday.  It may be photography related, it may just be mom-life related, it may be the meme that made me laugh the hardest this week.

Either way, I think it will be fun, so here we go!

1.  New year, new health goals!

Every year it seems I like to start the year with a different fitness goal.  Lose 8 pounds.  Tone up.  Drink more water.  Whatever the flavor of the week is 😉  This year, instead of a numerical/measurable goal that I can watch {fail}, I’m simply committing to more home-cooked meals.  I’m loaded up on new cookbooks and learning to get used to chopping a billion onions and peppers at the beginning of every week to make dinners easier to throw together.  I’m crushing on Lillie Eats & Tells ONE Cookbook and have already have a few dishes that have made it into our weekly rotation.

2.  Spring “Cleaning”

Okay so it’s winter.  Meh, details.  But I feel like my home *feels* cleaner when it smells better.  Don’t we all?  I’ve tried vacuuming multiple times a day, putting extra detergent in the washing machine that runs constantly, a billion essential oil recipes and diffusers and no matter what I try, between 2 dogs and 3 active, stinky kids, I still can’t seem to find the right combination to get that fresh home scent.  Accepting suggestions but in the meantime, I finally broke down and ordered a Pura.  Fingers crossed this is the magic my busy home needs to fake (people that don’t know me) out that I have it all together.  I’ll update once it’s up and running…

3.  Kids’ bedrooms.

We’ve lived in this house for coming up on 2.5 years and are still “settling in,” if you will.  I’m taking a Dave Ramsey approach to this and starting to finish rooms in the order of what’s easiest and the kids’ rooms feel like the best place to start!

For my 4-year-old, we’re running with a “superhero” theme but still keeping the bones of the room pretty classic and neutral so that we can easily switch out the decor as he gets older and more mature.  He’s just starting to participate in independent imaginative play, so I’m really pushing the little boy-isms and delighting in seeing him run around in spiderman and batman costume-pajamas at bedtime.

My 2-year-old loves everything, but we figured with the name of “Luke”, a starwars theme was fitting … I’ve started collecting inspo, but here are the bones we’re working with.  I think dressing the walls up and some fun lighting in {the room with an empty fixture} will be all it takes to make them more complete.

4.  New birth announcement program

If you want a little bouginess to make your birth announcements stay on your friends’ bulletin boards a little longer, look no further than these gorgeous new hand-torn cotton paper birth announcements.  Now available in the studio as a little upgrade for a huge impact.  I am v. excited about these.  I may even finally design an announcement for my last baby, born 8.30.2018.

5.  Something that made me laugh this week.

This is so easy.  I recently discovered the amazingness that is The Betchelor podcast.  I was in stitches listening to their banter on my short commute into the studio this week and couldn’t wait to turn it back on for the ride home.  WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE AND WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO START IT?!  I needed a little mood-switcheroo from In the Red Clay (also a v. good listen) and this 110% did the trick.  10/10, highly recommend for mindless driving (or laundry-folding) entertainment, IF you are caught up on the current season of The Batchelor/ Batchelorette.