Life Lately

Happy weekend, friends! I am one happy girl over here. Sean's home from his trip to Colorado with my family, Em is sleeping right next to me in her Dock-A-Tot, and I just found a new website to order my favorite photo magnets from after finding out the place I used to order from closed up shop. Oh, and did I mention it's the weekend? 🙌 I feel like the magic that is the weekend deserves to be shouted out more than once. We definitely have that Friday feelin' over here! Here's a little update on what's been going on in my world lately!

emmy's heart

We've had a few follow up appointments since my first post about Em's heart, and each time we leave a little more hopeful that her body is doing what it's supposed to be doing! We had another ultrasound a few weeks ago, and the cardiologist said that the hole (VSD) is definitely getting smaller, but it's not small enough yet to keep blood from going through it so we still need to keep a pretty close eye on things.

The left side of her heart is enlarged from working so much harder, but that's to be expected and should return back to a normal size once the hole has closed. We're still on a "wait and see" approach which we are so thankful for ... no talk of medication, and definitely no talk of surgery. 🙌 The only thing it seems to be effecting is her size from her increased metabolism, but as long as she continues growing the way she has been then there's no concern there either! We have another check up on Monday to listen to her little heart and make sure nothing has changed, but as of right now we're just so grateful that we've continued to get good news after each appointment. Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and for sending good healing vibes Em's way! ❤️

capsule wardrobe

I think I've tried to start a capsule wardrobe every season since I first read about it. 🙈 I mean, I basically live in the same five articles of clothing all the time so it wouldn't really be that far off from what I'm doing now! The only difference would be that I would actually be able to see the floor in our closet. 😅I've been trying to come up with a solid capsule for spring, and I've been shopping specifically with a capsule wardrobe in mind. It's actually kept me from impulse buying a few pieces so I'd call that a win! 👌

If you have no idea what the heck I'm even talking about, the point of a capsule wardrobe is to eliminate clutter, stress, and to be more intentional with the clothing you own. It gets rid of the "I have a million pieces and nothing to wear" mentality entirely because each piece in your closet has been carefully chosen and is something that you feel great in! Sounds like a win-win situation, right?

I currently have two big boxes of clothes sitting out in our hallway for my sisters to go through, and whatever they don't end up taking is heading straight to Goodwill! I'm planning on documenting my process once I've figured out how I want to personally go about building up my capsule so keep an eye out for a post all about it!

finding the perfect rug

Does anyone else have the hardest time finding the perfect rug? 😂 It seems like every time I find a pattern I love at a decent price point the pile is non-existent, and when the thickness is just right the options quickly dwindle. I still have a few rugs to buy for random areas of the house, but I'm SO pumped to say that we only need one more for our main level for our living room!

I found this rug at Target for our dining room and instantly fell in love, this one for our foyer, this one for the kitchen, the smaller version of the dining room rug for the back door, and then my mom is a total gem of a human and gave us the rug she was using in her craft room for the space where we have our piano because it matches so well! I finally feel like we're making good progress on making this house our own, and I can't wait to share each room with you guys!

our favorite recipes

I'm very much a creature of habit when it comes to cooking. When I find a recipe that both Sean and I love I tend to repeat it over and over until we're both totally sick of it. In my defense though, he's always been sort of a picky eater. 😅 The amount of chicken alfredo pasta that has been consumed in this house would shock any normal human.

There are a few tried and true recipes though that we never get tired of, and they are ones that are totally worthy of repeating. Since I've had to go totally dairy free (Em has a milk protein allergy + I'm nursing so dairy is a no-go for me too!) I've had to drop some of our favorites, and adapt others. Here's a few of our repeats that you definitely need to add to your recipe box: this paleo chili, chicken pot pie soup (roll up pillsbury buttermilk biscuit dough and toss in at the end to make dumplings!), my rendition of taco salad, jambalaya using this mix is THE BEST thing ever, and my chicken teriyaki stir fry! I've been pinning a ton of new recipes that I want to try, too! If you want to check any of those out you can click here for savory, here for breakfast, and here for sweet!

P.S. While we're on the topic of food, if you haven't tried the Avocado Ranch Blackbean Burger from Smashburger, you're missing out. I've seriously been craving it over regular burgers which is absolute crazy talk in my world. It's SO good, y'all! 😍

flying solo

Sean went with my family on our annual ski trip to Telluride, CO last week! Em and I had to hang back because the high altitude would’ve been too much for her to handle ... even all of the adults are sucking down oxygen back at the house we rent to avoid altitude sickness so we didn't think it was worth the risk. I basically had to push Sean out the door because he felt so bad about leaving us behind, but I wasn’t about to let him miss out on his favorite trip of the year!

To be honest, I was a little nervous flying solo at home for longer than a day ... That might sound kind of silly to some because what’s there to be nervous about, right? But Sean and I tackle every single day as a team which makes me appreciate him so much more when he's away. I'm so thankful to have a husband who’s absence is felt so strongly. ❤️ I’m proud to say that Emmy and I survived (😂), but we are both SO happy for our favorite guy to be home. Based on Em's sweet reaction when he got home it's safe to say that she definitely missed her daddy!

flower challenge

I can't even tell you the last time I sat down to create a new piece of artwork which is totally out of the norm for me. I'm a little flower obsessed (as if you didn't already know that 😂), and after picking up this book I'm feeling inspired again! I'm going to be jumping into a personal challenge to draw a different flower / bouquet / wreath / scene everyday for the next 100 days. I'll be posting them all on my Instagram stories, and I'm sure more than a few of them will end up in my Society6 shop! 🌻🌿

finding balance

I've been in a constant season of growth ever since Emmy came in and rocked my world in the best way, and I can honestly say that this tiny human of ours is making me a better person with each day that passes. 💗 She's teaching me patience, how to let go of my fears, and how to give grace freely every single day. Before Em, my top priority was to get as much work done as I possibly could. It's no surprise that work isn't my primary focus anymore, and I definitely don't have the unlimited time to get things done like I used to. Heck, I barely have an uninterrupted 30 minutes most days! 😅

Emmy is definitely not what anyone would call a chill baby. 😂 She is hilarious, sassy, full of personality, is the queen of the 20 minute power nap, and wants to be held out facing the world 24/7. She's been this way ever since she was born, and with that comes it's own set of challenges. Don't get me wrong! I love being able to follow Em's lead everyday, but when you literally can't put your baby down for longer than 10 minutes at a time until bedtime it tends to take a lot out of you. Not to mention the fact that everything else immediately falls by the wayside.

My patience has been super limited because I stretch myself so thin, it seems like our house is always messy, we're on a first name basis with our local Postmates drivers because I hardly cook anymore, and I finally decided last week that enough is enough. Nothing changes if nothing changes, am I right? 🙌 My main priority is my family, and though I'm a working mama, I'm self-employed which gives me the freedom to call my own shots. I mean, let's be real here, this is exactly why I spent all of those years working my butt off to build a business so that I could work from home and take care of my family!

I've started implementing small changes in my daily routine that have honestly made all the difference in the world. From swapping out random TV shows in the morning with worship music, to investing in a front facing baby carrier so I can be hands free and cook / clean / work during the day, to stopping to pray throughout the day whether it comes from a place of joy, stress, thankfulness, or worry. These little things have honestly changed my entire mindset around what my priorities in my life are in this season, and though I absolutely love what I do, I love my role as a wife and mama even more. 💗 I clearly don't have it all figured out yet, but I know that these simple steps are getting me even closer to finding the perfect balance. 🙌

And I think that about covers all the big stuff that's going on around here lately! While I have you here (and if you're still reading this novel of an update you're the real MVP 👊) what do you guys think about email newsletters? Do you love them? Hate them? I've been thinking about starting one for a while to start sending out pretty free tech downloads for your phone background and computer, sharing my favorite pieces from big sales that are going on, little exclusive updates that don't make it to the blog / social media ... would you be into something like that? Drop a comment below + let me know! Until next time! ✌️