worn{1.7.16}

sometimes i wonder if people who have met me in the past few years would recognize the old me.  there are so many things in my life that have changed in the last five or six years. some are much better. some are just different. and some. well, i long for those days. i've mentioned before that my style and self esteem have taken a major hit. i miss the days where i wore fancy dresses and heels just because it felt good! i'm challenging myself to get a little bit of that back this year. this means that i'm forcing myself to let go of my daily mom uniform and "dress up" at least one day a week. of course dress up is a relative term but i'm holding myself to no yoga pants, leggings or uggs on those days.

it's been a fairly mild winter in ohio. i only had a few errands to run with the little and none of them included sitting/playing/crawling around on the floor so i threw caution to the wind and wore a dress!

i love that this dress has enough weight to it that i can pair with tights and sweaters when it's cool but it's light enough that i can wear it with sandals in the warmer months.  i tend to layer over things and it never really occurred to me to use the dress as a top layer over this plaid shirt. don't know why i needed to see it on pinterest to make it click but thanks pinterest! here's to banishing the wardrobe blues in 2016!

 

bookshelf{january}

last year i set a 40 book goal for myself. i managed to read 35. so close! i thought that i would be able to rally those last few weeks of the year but ultimately i'm happy with my results. i also learned that there is no shame in walking away from a book. if i'm not feeling it it's okay to put it down. the book police aren't going to come and arrest me! it's kind of freeing to say i don't have the time or mental space to finish something that doesn't interest me. this year i'm challenging myself to read 52 books. one a week seems completely reasonable. i think.

here's what i've got to keep me company this month.

the first two books are recommendations from one of my favorite podcasts, all the books.

thirteen ways of looking by colum mccann is a collection of short stories and made plenty of "best of" lists in 2015. i've never been into short stories. they always feel so...short. abrupt. but these days my attention span is not that great and my days are full. a wonderful collection of short stories may be just what the doctor ordered.    

i don't remember why i added girl waits with gun by amy stewart to my list. or should i say i can't recall why i thought i would enjoy it other than liberty hardy's enthusiastic recommendation. it looks interesting so i remain hopeful that even though it's not my typical read it will be a good one!

for interesting non-fiction that often reads like a novel erik larson is kind of a no brainer. i'm a few chapters into his latest offering dead wake: the last crossing of the lusitania and i'm enjoying it.

do you have anything interesting to read this month? are you excited about any upcoming releases?

pssttt...are you a user at goodreads? follow me here.

 

 

   

new year birthday boy

we celebrated christmas on dec 24 because my husband had to work on christmas day. this ended up being a blessing because rowan was hit with a virus-high temp and vomitting on christmas. it lasted several days and of course once he started to feel better i got hit hard. note to self stop rescheduling my flu shot!! 

i have been in pajamas and feeling like crud since christmas and today is the first i've been dressed and left the house for almost two weeks! 

it is also my son's birthday! zach is 19 which blows my freakin' mind!!! the fam headed out to treat him to birthday lunch.

  

happy birthday kid! i love you and i'm so proud that i'm your mom! xo 

holiday junction {family adventures}

one of my favorite holiday activities is going to see holiday junction, an amazing train display! last year we went to see a smaller display, mostly for us since rowan was too little to know what he was looking at. but this year, he loved it!! i think we could have stayed there all day in one spot watching them go round and round and he would have been perfectly content!

most parents will tell you that attempting to do any sort of family activity, especially during the holidays, can be more hassle than it's worth. everything is crowded, the lines are long, people are grumpy and then there are the toddler tantrums! seeing his face light up. his delight at the train horn. this is why we do it! the giggles and clapping are worth it all, kiddo.  


rocking the holidays{or the time i attempted to bake cookies}

this shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertisers. all opinions are mine alone. #RocktheHolidays #CollectiveBias  

i can't recall one single christmas that doesn't include a memory made in the kitchen. whether it was watching my mom make her famous olive-cheese balls for the christmas potluck at church as a little one, trying sneak sips of champagne during a holiday cocktail party at our house as teenager or the first time i cooked christmas dinner for my family as young wife and mother-i aced the turkey but made mashed potatoes from a box!!! the one thing that links all of these memories is music! donny hathaway's "this christmas" , whitney houston's "o, holy night' and the jackson 5 singing "i saw mommy kissing santa claus" are all a part of my childhood christmas soundtrack.

rowan loves being in the kitchen so i decided this would be the perfect time to start our own tradition of holiday baking. over the weekend i hit up wal-mart for some baking supplies. while we filled our cart with flour, sprinkles, butter and cookie cutters i also picked up the T-mobile Samsung Galaxy Core Prime and a T-mobile $50 refill card. my interest was piqued because the $50 T-Mobile Simple Choice™ pre pay plan comes with Music Freedom and allows you to stream an unlimited amount of your favorite tunes at high speed. no worries about using up those precious gigs that are part of your data plan. i can literally carry the soundtrack to our holidays with me anywhere! i am listening to justin bieber's christmas album as we speak. yes, i'm a belieber! and, i regret nothing because YOLO!

it's good to know that no matter how long it takes me(the world's most okayest baker)to perfect santa's christmas cookies we'll be listening to our favorite holiday tunes!

  and my no fail, even if they're not pretty they taste amazing sugar cookie recipe 

ingredients

  • 1 c. butter, softened
  • 1½ c. sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 c. all-purpose flour
  • ½ tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • frosting (optional)
  • Coarse sugar crystals, silver dragées, holiday decors (optional decorations)

directions

  1. in large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. in separate large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and sugar until blended. Increase speed to high; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. reduce speed to low; beat in eggs and vanilla until mixed, then beat in flour mixture just until blended, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. divide dough into 4 equal pieces; flatten each piece into a disk. wrap each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  2. preheat oven to 350°F. remove1 piece of dough from refrigerator. on lightly floured surface, with floured rolling pin, roll dough until slightly less than 1/4 inch thick. with floured 3-inch to 4-inch cookie cutters, cut dough into as many cookies as possible; reserve trimmings. place cookies, 1 inch apart, on two ungreased large cookie sheets.
  3. bake until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through. transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. repeat with remaining dough.
  4. when cookies are cool, prepare frosting, if you like; use along with sugars and candies to decorate cookies. Set cookies aside to allow frosting to dry completely, about 1 hour. store in tightly covered container (with waxed paper between layers if decorated) at room temperature up to 2 weeks, or in freezer up to 3 months.

the weekly{vol 2.}

the podcast that ignited a frenzy is back for season 2. to listen week by week or to save a few episodes and binge listen. decisions. decisions. 

another week, another mass shooting(or two). sunday is the anniversary of sandy hook. moms demand action for gun safety in america are hosting orange walks across the country. we'll be at the cincinnati walk. you can find one in your community here

binge watching jessica jones and master of none (netflix is killing it this year!)

like every other person on the planet listening to adele

reading the heart-breaking, brutal and very necessary the new jim crow:mass incarceration in age of colorblindness

this viral video that every instagrammer/blogger husband can relate to gave me much needed LOLZ 

a little christmas joy

how do you christmas? i wasn't sure what christmas our way meant until i sat down to write this post. after reflecting for a long time i would have to say that christmas our way is slow and filled with lots of inappropriate humor!

last year was the first christmas with rowan and the first year that all of the big kids were home for the holidays. may favorite part was watching them interact with their little brother, having all of their friends over to hang out and visit and sitting around the table laughing at all the wrong things!  i become overwhelmed around the holidays and experience depression. having a slow and smaller celebrations helps me maintain my focus. i only wish i'd figured that out sooner! 

top three memories of last year are taking rowan to see santa, having all 5 of kids together for a photo and our family of 7 all gathered around the tree watching rowan take everything in on christmas morning.

 

last year was so joyful that we've created our own december bucket list. i think that it will certainly change a bit from year to year but it's nice to do the things that have meaning for you and your family and forget about everything else!

i love seeing all the ways others are celebrating!

take a look at these wonderful posts by some of my blogger friends.

Sara Lafountain http://cookwith5kids.com

Erin Cox http://www.lifeabundantlyblog.com

Katie Mullis Crenshaw http://twelveandsix.com

Clarissa Laskey http://www.clarissaexplainsitall.net

Marcia Denise http://www.ciasays.com

Gillian Nicholl http://www.indulgingmum.com

Lauren Shoffner http://crunchandchill.com

Elizabeth Edgar http://mommygonetropical.com

Elanor Brammer http://tiggypoesandflutterbys.blogspot.co.uk

Jennifer Crowther http://www.jennyscrayoncollection.blogspot.co.uk

Kate Walton http://www.akreativewhim.com%2F&h=lAQFx3Niz

Marilyn Arriaga http://www.tiltamom.com

Cindylynn Calzone http://hometownqueenbee.blogspot.co.uk/…/what-will-our-chil…

Courtnee Garr Frimming http://www.ohmyheartblog.com

Kam Kay http://www.thewomentalk.com

Kelley Farrell Ferreira http://www.chicagonow.com/canny-nanny

Samantha Lamb http://mommawantsjava.com

Chanel Cumberbatch http://www.crunchychronicles.com

Rachel Newcombe http://smartmomsmartideas.com

Karen Marie Patten https://www.facebook.com/spoilmyfamily/?pnref=lhc

Brittany Lass Schwan http://www.beckyandbrittany.com

Rebecca West http://www.craftcreatecalm.com

Esther Steinfield Freedman http://blog.cuteheads.com

Kimberley Mazzarolo http://talesfromthecrib.ca

Liz Jean http://www.cheekydays.com

Julie McCorkle http://julesandco.net

Shannon Hughes Gauger http://dailymomtivity.com

Kristen Marie http://gentleparentingwny.com

Janella Panchamsingh http://www.mabellevie.ca

Kim Robertson http://1200milesaway.com

Lynzy Carey Coughlin http://www.sparklingfootsteps.com

Jannel Alisha http://thevanessachronicles.com

Jennifer Vleira McCullar http://lifewith3boys1girl.com