• remote work
    Family & Motherhood

    Remote work: why asking for help is the key

    I recently read an article talking about the struggles of entering the workforce after the pandemic. The results were shocking. Check out this graph made by Moody’s Analytics: See that red line? That’s women with young children who haven’t been able to re-enter the workforce due to factors like closed schools and daycares. As a mom with a 6 and almost 4-year old, I get it. I’m lucky that I get to work from home on my own schedule and prioritize work and kids depending on the day. My husband has been working from home since March of last year. It’s tough for him to focus while the kids are…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Anytime Gifts for Moms

    Mother’s Day is coming up! This year I’m celebrating all the moms in my life including my mom, mom friends, family and myself. With the year we’ve had, moms have been the true superheroes of the past crappy year. Since becoming a mom, I’ve realized how important mom friends are, so every year I send them a card to let them know how truly special they are. But even though we have a day dedicated to moms, what about the rest of the year? Call me crazy, but I think moms deserve to be celebrated all year. Working moms, stay-at-home moms, single moms, we do so much every day that…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Self-Love

    Self-love is a term that’s been thrown around a lot. Almost to the point of making you feel bad about it if you don’t love yourself in a way that is apparent to the world. The quote above is awesome, but also overwhelming. Love EVERY PART OF MYSELF? Taking care of MY OWN NEEDS? It seems far-fetched. I did not grow up engulfed in self-love. More often than not I was self-conscious about my weight, my clothes and fitting in. I was a very shy kid and kids can be mean. I was bullied, made fun of, and so desperate to find my place in my small world. As I…

  • Family & Motherhood

    Starting a Movie Night Tradition

    Do you have a fun family tradition? We are at the place where our girl can sit through a new movie with us, and while our boy’s attention span is closer to 20 minutes before he starts getting restless and playing with his airplanes, it’s nice to think about starting a movie night tradition that just get better and better. We recently saw E.T and our girl was totally into it. I have forgotten so much of that movie that it really brought me back. Traditions help form stronger bonds and are unique to every family, which is what makes it super special. With so many good family movies out there, there…

  • Lifestyle

    A Fairy Garden for Tinker Bell

    We are knee-deep into anything fairy-related over here. Tinker Bell is on repeat, we have countless dollar store wings, some pixie dust, and a fairy garden set. There is a house on the street where her school is that has a little fairy garden set that we see all the time. It’s got the little house, some glitter painted rocks and flowers. It’s super cute and she likes to take a good look at it all the time. My sisters gifted her a little garden kit and it was immediately built and put outside. Now she wants to make her own. We’ve been watching Tinker Bell and The Great Fairy…

  • scents
    Lifestyle

    The Power of Scents

    I just got my second COVID vaccine and after a good 48 hours of chills and body aches followed by extreme fatigue, I’m grateful to science that I am 2 weeks away from being fully protected. Everything we’ve been through this past year with the pandemic, the one resounding thing that is needed is calm. A pause in the day to make space to breathe, connect and let all the stresses melt away.  That may seem far-fetched given our daily responsibilities, but one simple thing we can do in starting on that path is to take in the power of scents. Of all five senses, the smell is the one…

  • tapestry
    Lifestyle

    How to use tapestry for small rooms

    Small rooms can sometimes be a challenge to decorate. You want the room to look bigger, not cramped, and be inviting and warm. Storage bins and shelves help with clutter, but where does that leave decor? Our new home has a different layout than our old one, with the rooms being smaller and the living spaces bigger. It’s been an adjustment in fitting in furniture and decor, and some creativity in storage has been needed. There are a ton of tricks out there that can help to make a room feel so much bigger than it is. Paint color, window treatments, fabric choices and strategic furniture are all great. Adding tapestry to a…

  • living room ideas
    Lifestyle

    Living Room Inspiration

    We are in new territory when it comes to our living room. Our new home is about the same size as our previous one, but the space allocated to rooms is different. This has given us much more room in our living area and less room in the bedrooms. Pros and cons, right? Our living room is in that weird in-between space where you have your old furniture that fit in the old house just kind of sitting in a new space, unsure of where it needs to be. It’s exciting to think of what our new living room could look and feel like. I would like a set-up that…

  • Lifestyle

    The Housewarming Gift Homeowners Really Want

    “I don’t know what to get you as a housewarming gift”, my friend said a few weeks after we bought a house. Now mind you she had actually sold us our house, so she had given us the best housewarming gift. But it got me thinking. What gift is a good one for someone you know (or don’t), that won’t end up in a pile of items that need to be put away? Moving is overwhelming, chaotic and stressful. A gift is a great gesture, but choosing one that doesn’t add clutter to a multitude of existing boxes can be a challenge. The main goal of a housewarming gift is to…

  • wreath
    Lifestyle

    There’s a Wreath on the Door

    My daughter and I went to HomeGoods the other week to look for a new laundry basket. Somewhere I missed the memo that around age 6, this girl was REALLY into wanting every pretty thing in the store (“mom, you GOTTA have this! It’s amazing!” she says looking at a unicorn snow globe). She loves HomeGoods now. As we passed by the seasonal section, we saw the cutest egg-decorated, bunny-shaped wreath. I have never had a wreath on my door. My parents, in-laws, and friends have had them, but I never saw the interest in them. Folks, I bought the wreath and have it hanging on my door. Wreaths have…