Energy Bites (three ways)

So this mom of two business while nursing and trying to drop the baby weight is kicking my butt.  Trying to stay hydrated when you are carrying a baby from room to room with no free hands for a water and when your toddler is constantly stealing your water (or putting her hands in it) is no easy feat.  I also find that I am constantly hungry with no time for a proper healthy snack.

Since I am working on dropping the baby weight, I can’t just grab whatever is easy because most of the time, the easiest snacks are the least healthy (I’m looking at you Starbucks drive-thru pumpkin loaf and you Nature Valley sweet and salty bars).  For example, I was horrified to discover that my little sweet and salty bar (which is 170 calories) has so many ingredients.  Y’all – I stopped counting at 22 ingredients.  Yes, 22 ingredients.

So, I typically reach for a Granny Smith Apple (with or without peanut butter depending on how hungry I am), Greek yogurt or some sliced turkey (try the Boar’s Head all natural turkey – it taste like Thanksgiving turkey and not some slimly substitute).  Lately though, I’ve been getting pretty bored with these options and also want something I can throw in my purse.  Enter – the energy bite!

Continue reading “Energy Bites (three ways)”

Toddler Girl: Back to School Edition

It’s Fall y’all!  And that means back to school for a lot of the kiddos out there.  I’ve always had a weakness for fall clothes — and it is no different when it comes to my little ones.  It’s a shame I live in the South, because 80% of my wardrobe is meant for 60 degrees or cooler.  My oldest just started preschool twice a week, and I’ve been having too much fun buying fall clothes for her (meanwhile the little one is living in cotton footies and onesies).

Continue reading “Toddler Girl: Back to School Edition”

Blue Apron – An Honest Review & Some Tips

This may be the only online review of Blue Apron that isn’t somehow sponsored, but I had to share my surprising love for it.  I honestly never would’ve tried it, but my mother-in-law kindly purchased us a month subscription to help simplify our dinnertime routine.  And y’all – I am a huge fan.  I totally plan on continuing our subscription.

Continue reading “Blue Apron – An Honest Review & Some Tips”

My Postpartum Momiform

Postpartum clothes should be a category all to themselves.  Maternity clothes just don’t cut it in the postpartum period – mostly because you are no longer pregnant but also because they are made to emphasize the one thing you are ready to disguise — the bump (except now it is a pooch), and regular clothes (at least for most of us mortals) just don’t fit right away.  And to top it all off, if you are breastfeeding, your postpartum wardrobe must provide easy access.  This is a tall order for a category of clothes that doesn’t even exist.

So what are we left with?  Well, for most of us, it is some hybrid of the maternity clothes that don’t make us feel pregnant, stretchy work-out clothes even though we aren’t doing much working out in the first few weeks (does pushing the double stroller around at a 3.0 pace count?), and maybe some regular clothes that don’t emphasize said regions in a size or two up from our pre-pregnancy size.

Continue reading “My Postpartum Momiform”

Easy Weeknight Baked Salmon Served Two Ways (and some wine suggestions)

I am always looking for easy, healthy recipes — especially now that I have one kiddo that goes to sleep at 7:00 pm and a newborn that likes to hang out until at least 8:30 pm.  After all, we aren’t Spaniards and don’t enjoy eating at 10:00 pm (or staying up past then for that matter).  Long gone are the days where I’d spend 45 minutes to an hour leisurely cooking elaborate dinners and sipping on wine — at least for now.

I’ve had so many wonderful friends drop off dinner since having the baby last month, but it has also been nice to cook and feel a bit like my old self again.  I’ve made this salmon once a week since having the baby, and it is as delicious as it is easy and balanced.  It also doesn’t hurt to have a crispy bottle of something white chilling in the fridge for this one. 

Continue reading “Easy Weeknight Baked Salmon Served Two Ways (and some wine suggestions)”

The Importance of Date Night

If I could offer one piece of advice to new parents (or seasoned parents for that matter), it would be to establish a date night if you do not already have one.  It is so easy to get stuck in a rut at home or to only get a sitter when there is a special event or a group of couples that are going out, but you and your significant other need one on one time.

Continue reading “The Importance of Date Night”

Pretty Paper

Hooray!  I’ve caught up on all of my thank-you notes.  Call me old-fashioned, but I still enjoy picking out stationery and writing notes.  As much as I rely on my phone nowadays, I also love having some easy notecards to grab to write a to-do list or a grocery list.  I really enjoy being able to physically cross things off.  Read on for some of my favorite pretty paper options.

Continue reading “Pretty Paper”

The Wolf Pack Expands & A Look at My Quarterly Costco Visit List

Please excuse my lack of posting.  We welcomed our second daughter on July 29th, so we’ve been enjoying the baby haze the last two weeks.

image1-6

Photo Credit Real Photo Kem Lee

We made one big Costco run before our daughter was born, and I realized that we buy the exact same items every time.  Read on for my go-to list.

*This post is in no way sponsored. Continue reading “The Wolf Pack Expands & A Look at My Quarterly Costco Visit List”

Our Ninth Anniversary & My Etsy Find: Annie Grotophorst

Happy August!  August is not just a hot-hot-hot time in Atlanta — it is the month of our wedding anniversary!  Read on to see the fun gift I commissioned off Etsy to celebrate nine years of wedded-bliss!

Continue reading “Our Ninth Anniversary & My Etsy Find: Annie Grotophorst”

Coffee Table Styling

I struggle to find that perfect balance between bare and cluttered for my coffee tables.  For the coffee table in our den, I generally like to keep it cleared off, with just a few recent magazines and the remote controls so that people can bring in food/drink or my daughter can do a puzzle.

For the coffee table in our living room, however, I like to layer lots of interesting coffee table books, the most recent Architectural Digest, home accessories, candles, flowers, and cocktail napkins.  I want my living room coffee table to beckon you to come, have a drink, light a candle, and grab a book.  I also want everything to mean something.  In my mind, that is what differentiates curated from cluttered.

Hate having anything on your coffee table like I know some of you do?  There is always room for these goodies on a bookcase or side table too. 

Continue reading “Coffee Table Styling”