When You Know You’re About to Leave Your Comfort Zone

Something I’ve been thinking about more and more as the time gets closer for Baby #2’s arrival is that we are quickly nearing the end of our comfort zone as we currently know it—a comfort zone that’s been solidly in place for around a year, if not more. With my daughter’s whole first year of …

Saving Vs. Splurging on Backyard Projects

This last weekend, my husband and I did more yardwork in one 48-hour period than we’ve probably ever done before in our adult lives. Between building raised garden beds, picking up loads of compost (and spreading it out, one wheelbarrow load at a time), attempting to transplant seeds, moving rocks and rearranging flower borders, and …

My New “Absolute Daily Minimum” Chore List

About a month ago, I read a blog post that I’ve been thinking about ever since— Basically, the post was all about why you should create a list of things you will do every single day in order to bring a greater sense of purpose/peace/fulfillment/order to your life. The catch? This list has to be …

After Almost Two Decades, I Finally Know My Natural Haircolor Again

Last Friday, I got a haircut. Not that anyone will notice, as it was just a trim (she took 3 inches off) and an aggressive thinning out of my super-thick mane. Really, there was nothing notable about the cut–it’s basically the same cut I’ve been getting for over 3 years now, with the exception that …

3 Years Ago, I Became a Better Me

As I’ve mentioned before, motherhood has been both everything and nothing like what I thought it would be. Three years ago, literally at the same moment the sun crested the mountains visible through our hospital room window, my daughter came into the world, healthy and pink and with the cutest little cry I’d ever heard …

Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese, 3 Ways

  I grew up with three older sisters who all, to some degree, liked to cook (or at least had certain “specialties” that they were known for). While I remember loving my sister Hannah’s homemade donuts and personal pizzas and my older sister Jill’s banana drop cookies (which I am definitely posting the recipe for …

Officially In the Third Trimester Now! (+ Progress on Pregnancy Goals)

Well, I’ve made it folks— I’m officially in the third trimester of this pregnancy, and we are officially feeling a bit, well, large. And, uh, very pregnant. The first part of this pregnancy seemed to fly by, so that when we reached our gender ultrasound at about halfway through, I could scarcely believe we were …

A Tax Boo-Boo, Two Dinner Parties, and (Unbelievably) More Sickness {March in a Sentence a Day}

If you’re new around these parts, this monthly series is an exercise in brevity as I try (sometimes not very hard) to summarize each day of our month in one sentence. (Also, I’ve been taking a picture of my daughter every day since she was born, and this is a GREAT place for me to …