Oh em gee. We did it. We made it to 2025 and although I'm kicking off on a slow/fast start, I couldn't think of a better way to start my year here than to first reflect. A lot happened in 2024 that I'll always be grateful for because it was truly a unique, one of a kind year where everything just happened as it was supposed to. Here are the deets. 

Halloween Decor | Sideboard Inspo

'Tis the spoOoOoky season! We're full on doing Halloween already in our home and I couldn't be more excited. This is the first year Daniel actually understands what Halloween is, so it really feels like a mama milestone to get here and do special things for him to enhance the experience. Pre-babies, I'd put a pumpkin out for fun, but it was never really a thing, so I'm more than happy now to dig into my creative genes to whip up some holiday fun! 

Looking For The Perfect Fall Sweater? Here are 8.

While it is certainly not sweater weather yet here in Southern CA, now is still a great time to stock up on these closet staples that'll carry us well into the rest of the year. Selecting the perfect sweater can be tough though! If you're like me, you'll likely ask yourself a ton of questions before committing. Will it last? Will the color match with everything else? Do I love the sleeves? If you shook your head up and down while reading through those questions, you'll be thrilled with the following. I made us a list of sweaters to shop for Fall and it's a good list. You're welcome. Let's get to shopping!

Prime Day Picks Still On Sale

If you haven't already checked out of your Amazon cart, you'll want to wait until after this post. My Prime Day list isn't long, but it's a good one full of my must haves and things I've been eyeing. Let's shop! 

Best Time Ever

Life update: I lost my job. Here's the story. Days before I came back to work from maternity leave, I learned the company I worked for was closing it's CA office and moving to the East Coast. Yeah it was bittersweet because I loved the brand I worked for and I really loved my co-workers, but the reality of it all was this was the best thing that could have happened. I was genuinely sad this time around to go back to work because I had such a great time on leave with my two littles. We enjoyed our daily park trips and doing all the relaxing things having a job didn't allow. So really, when I found out about this, it felt like I had another chance to leave again in a few months to spend more time with my babies. Flash forward to the last day of April, I wrapped up work and kicked off my funemployment. It has now been just over a month of not working, I just turned 34 a few days ago and it all just feels like an awesome time to refocus my personal goals. 

Orange Creamsicle Toddler Pouch Recipe

 

Okay, I took a much needed hiatus but obvi worth it because have you seen my kids!? I'm full on momma of two and when I tell you this new life is incredibly challenging yet fulfilling, it's 100% all of that and more. I once heard that when you become a mom, you immediately become green which is actually really funny because I definitely fit the bill long before I became a mom. Getting my kids the best to keep them healthy is my forever job and that starts with nutrition. We've been there and back with food making sure to fork up a big bill on their food and still, there's always a little voice inside me that constantly reminds me nothing is actually fresh unless it's homemade. Anyway, long story short, we're cool to balance freshly made and as good as it gets snacks because there's also this thing called time that we don't have enough of - oy. 

Embroidered Valentine's Day Shirts

 

It's our first DIY of 2023! So excited to bring this content back and in such a fun way. My goal for this year is to post at least one DIY every month and honestly was jazzed about this one in particular. I love Valentine's Day and the season of hearts, pink, red and all the cute things. Now having a child and tons of nieces and nephews around, it's fun to think of little crafts to put together on a whim, like these conversation heart t-shirts for Valentine's Day. Let's go over what you need! 

Apple, Peas and Spinach Baby Puree

 

'Tis the start of #xobabyeats! If you follow me on Instagram, you know #XoEats is my thing. Now having a baby that's fully eating solids, it's so fun to experiment with blends and textures. Daniel had a little bit of a slow start with solids and was absolutely not into the first blend of veggies we gave him. We tried food our pediatrician recommended (Beechnut brand) and that worked so great. If I wasn't going to make it myself, I at least wanted to make sure we were giving him an option that was a trusted brand free of icky ingredients. Still, I'd look at the blends and couldn't get past the fact that we were giving him something I could blend up lol. For as much as I love hitting up the farmer's market every weekend, I just always envisioned myself picking fruit and veggies up for my kid and making their food. Long story short, we're there now and I'm so excited to be able to share some recipe's here! First up, apple, peas, spinach oh my! 

Checking in from Motherhood

 

Where do I even begin? Motherhood is quite the journey of nothing but an ebb and flow. I thought I'd come back to write sooner, but I'm glad I didn't because this wouldn't have been as thoughtful of a post as one I can provide today. With almost 8 months in and still (forever) figuring this new life out, it's time to lay it out all. The good and the not so fun moments. Read on for my motherhood review. Spoiler alert, I give it 10/10 stars. 

Baby Shower Floral Arrangements

It's no shocking news (especially if you follow me on Insta) that I LOVE playing with flowers. Flowers bring me so much joy and there's nothing I love more than creating something fresh for our home or an event. For our baby shower, I of course took charge of flowers and loved how they came out, so in this post, I'm teaching you how to recreate the look. To preface this post, I've taken a few floral design courses, so while I do have some experience learning techniques, I still think this design is very achievable for beginners. Let's go over what you need to get started!

Maternity Wardrobe Staples

Okay, back to my favorite subject. Fashion! When I found out I was pregnant, I had no idea what I was in for clothing wise. To start, I love to dress up, so as my body started changing, it was really hard to keep it together lol. Straight up, maternity clothes are not the cutest, but they serve their purpose and that's something to be thankful for. As soon as I hit 6 weeks, I was extremely bloated and it only got worst throughout the rest of first trimester sickness. My stomach went down from week 13-18, but as soon as I hit 18 weeks, my regular jeans said bye see you later lol. Every trimester required something new, so in this post, I'm rounding up my favorite go-to pieces that still helped me feel like me. Okay let's do this!

My Top 5 Pregnancy Products

Hello, February + BIRTH MONTH! To say this pregnancy flew by is an understatement. It only feels like it was slow when I pause to think about everything Martin and I have learned and been through together over the last nine months. For me personally, it's been a time of trial, error and fortunately success! With pregnancies being so different from woman to woman, it was hard for me to share 'must-have pregnancy products' every trimester! First of all, it takes some time to figure out if something works anyway, and after going through this pregnancy, I've definitely found major success in some items I feel confident saying have been my absolute go-to products. Listen up momma's in the making!

Dressing For Success

 

Year nine of blogging and some things never change: I still love pulling outfits together that make me feel my best. When I started my blog, I was in Fashion PR and hungry to make a career out of marketing. I showed up to the office everyday with the best outfit I could pull from my low-budget closet even if my most important task was to grab coffee for the senior publicists at 1pm lol. We all start somewhere!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

 

Fall cooking is probably my favorite. There's nothing like getting cozy and enjoying the warm scents of apple, cinnamon and butternut everything! This pregnancy has upped my craving for every fruit imaginable and also pancakes. Mix the two together with a side of fall and you got yourself a very happy pregnant chick. I came across a steamed cinnamon apple topper that I had to try and I'm here to report it's 10/10 and also deserves a 10/10 for how easy it is to make. Here's how!

Bump Friendly Costumes: Mike Wazowski

 

It's my favorite time of year: DIY costume series! This time is of course so much more special because my little guy is part of it. At 5 months pregnant, it's definitely hard to fit into much unless it has tons of stretch, SOOO regular Halloween costumes were not part of the equation this year. I need something that's comfortable, bump friendly and anything other than that darn Pooh Bear costume that seems to be the only costume for pregnant chicks lol. It's cute, but we need more options, so this series will feature bump-friendly costumes - for all my pregnant mamas! First up, Mike Wazowski. Let's do this!

Before I Continue: I'm Pregnant!

 

This blog has half served as my personal diary and half information I love to share and write about. In wanting to document life as it happens, and for the next few posts to make so much more sense, I need to share that I'm pregnant! 20 weeks, five months, having a baby boy pregnant. When I wrote about recommitting to sharing weekly posts back in June, I had no idea what kind of weather I'd storm. That weather was called The First Trimester lol. 

June Favorites

Hi hi! I saw a fun IG story template today that was all about June favs and it inspired me to write this post. Not gonna lie, while mentally answering some of the questions, I thought there was definitely a ton of room for improvement and discovery in my life. Not that I like to repeat things in life, it's just so easy to stick to what you know! I think this exercise is going to help me reflect on things I learned to love and push me to seek more newness in my life too. Okay let's get this month's recap started!

Recommitting

 

I remember the days when I'd spend all day thinking about blog posts, be excited to take pictures to support its content, support my work on social, be known as a blogger before 'influencer' took precedence, get excited to meet and mingle with other bloggers, etc. There's a lot this blog has given me and every time I ghost it, I think constantly think about. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup - Crockpot Recipe

Get your crockpots ready, ladies and gentlemen! If you're a chicken tortilla soup fan, this is the only recipe you need - also most likely the easiest.  I'm a total soup girl and chicken tortilla is one of my absolute favs. I've never had much luck making a good version of this soup, but honestly this version is the one I can make every single week and not get bored. You only need a few basic ingredients to make 4-5 servings, so let's get right to the deets!

How I'm Manifesting the Best Year Ever

Dudes. Was 2020 a weird year or what? It definitely flew by, yet feels like in the middle of my very long blink, I woke up and now it's 2021. I've tried writing this post all week, but every day has felt like the worst day to put thoughts together. I juggled from writing a sweet note to just diving in, and well, per the first week of 2021 it simply felt right to just dive in with my thoughts on how I'm going to work on doing good and being a better person to myself and others. Okay let's do this!