Life Lately: Easter at IKEA

April 21, 2017 / / 1 Comment

It’s a spring miracle: I’m working on a post while Avery is awake! This is only possible because every time she comes over and “asks” to be picked up, I do indeed pick her up but then immediate start filing her nails, which she hates. So she’s keeping her distance for now. Mom of the year!

Easter-ing indoors, as is the Seattle way

We had a pretty good Easter weekend. One highlight was a child free trip to IKEA (my mother in law was in town and watched Avery). It was a pretty glorious excursion and we got a ton of crap for the twins’ room. My approach to their nursery is amusingly different from what I did for Avery’s. Avery’s room color: picked the perfect VOC free paint. Twins’ room color: color from the last owners looks fine to me! Avery’s room art: ordered stuff online and spent a ridiculous amount on professional framing. Twins’ room art: IKEA prints are cute enough I guess. Avery’s crib: found a charming mid century modern-ish crib via some blog I followed. Twins’ cribs: IKEA’s $99 option seems legit. Etc. etc. Sorry, twins. There are a lot of hand me down clothes in your futures, too, so get used to the neglect now.

Getting weird off IKEA espresso

Easter weekend also featured a dinner out, sans kid, for Will’s birthday. We went to Girin and ordered the tasting menu, which was reasonably priced and delicious. It’s a Korean restaurant, so meat and veggie heavy, so I didn’t feel totally disgusting afterward which was a nice bonus. If I overeat these days, the food and baby in stomach combo makes me feel like I’m going to die.

GirinSteak

Next notable life happening: family trip to Kauai in about a week. Six hours on a plane with an 18 month old seems pretty scary. I plan to get through it by imagining how much more terrible flying will be with three small children instead of just the one.

Mom Hacks: How To Not Look Like Crap

November 30, 2016 / / Leave a comment

I wear a form of stretchy pants at least four out of seven days in any given week so maybe I’m not the best person to give advice on how not to look like shit. I also wear sweats, as in a legit men’s sweatsuit composed of a matching hoodie and extremely baggy pants. Point being, I’m not here to judge anyone.

I do, however, notice that when I put a small amount of effort into my appearance, I tend to feel better about life. And I do mean a SMALL amount. Here are some things I try to do when the showering once a week and wearing pants I slept in routine starts to wear me down.

Pants that aren’t stretchy! They do have holes tho oops

Easy Swaps
I am a ride or die Ugg wearer, deal with it. Uggs are easy, comfortable, and I actually like the silhouette. Yet sometimes real shoes are a good idea. So I bought these Chelsea boots from Nordstrom:

SHOES

Stylish but painless to wear: they pull on. Not suede, so they won’t get totally fucked in the Seattle rain. I try to swap out my trusty Uggs for them a couple times a week. Other possible easy swaps I try to make when I am feeling dumpy: oversized sweater instead of sweatshirt, a more structured legging rather than my ratty old ones, throwing on a real coat instead of my husband’s parka. Baby steps.

Avery wreaking general havoc per usual

The 15 Minute Rule
I’m the one who gets up with Avery in mornings. My husband works, and I’m home, so that’s just the way we roll. But I’ve started forcing dadpants to get up with enough time to allow me a brief stint to myself so I can get ready for the day. Being able to shut the bathroom door and spend some time on myself without needing to simultaneously prevent Avery from flushing the toilet repeatedly, accidentally ingesting toothpaste etc. makes a lot of difference in terms of my AM mindset. Bonus for everyone: I actually brush my teeth in the mornings now! And sometimes even floss them.

Kate Moss is my #momgoals

Embrace An Aesthetic That Works for You
My goal is cool rocker/tomboy mom. This is really easy because all my clothes are gray and black anyway, and my hair looks like crap so I can wear beanies and it works. I can throw on my trusty leather jacket over black yoga pants, maybe wear an ankle boot, and I have created an easy, comfortable, practical getup that also makes me feel like a decent human being. It becomes a uniform and then I don’t really have to think about it. As an overthinker, not thinking about shit sometimes is clutch for my sanity. If the rocker/tomboy mom isn’t you, there are a million other ways to go. Bohemian? Maxi dress and cardigan or army jacket. Glamorous? Knee high flat boots and hoop earrings. I’ve also found little, easy additions like a couple rings, or a scarf, or a cuff bracelet can help me feel more put together. Also, everyone knows this already, but dry shampoo. All day every day.

Valentine’s Day with Verlocal

February 2, 2016 / / Leave a comment

Valentine’s Day is sort of a dumb holiday. I’m not into cheesy baby’s breath-ridden bouquets, crappy chocolate or mediocre restaurant pre fixe menus. On the other hand, celebrating stuff is fun and it’s nice to have a reason to try something new and unexpected. Enter Verlocal, a platform that connects people through experiences led by locals.

What does that mean? You can use Verlocal to sign up for a wide range of classes and activities led by local experts. Verlocal is available in several major metro areas including Seattle, and there are tons of intriguing options. Pretty diverse stuff: cooking with cannabis, aerial yoga, and steelhead trout fishing, for example, are all on offer.

Several of the classes would be great for an unexpected Valentine’s Day date, actually. Hands-on Soft Cheesemaking perhaps? Cheese definitely = love. The Hands on Artisan Chocolate Making Class would be another great option. Or you could reenact that Demi Moore Patrick Swayze scene from Ghost in a pottery class. If your date has a sense of humor, you could sign up for Trapped in a Room with a Zombie: enter a room and solve riddles in order to escape…. or get eaten! Romantic!

If you’d like to check out one of Verlocal’s offerings, for Valentine’s Day or otherwise, use the code “Admirer” for a 20% discount on any of Verlocal’s experiences.

Random Pregnant Stuff

September 8, 2015 / / Leave a comment

About two and a half weeks left until it’s birthin’ time, holy shit. I haven’t been feeling super awesome so I’m trying to lay low and enjoy being a self-indulgent slug while I still can. Lots of trashy TV and reading and pre natal massages.

Delightful Saturday Morning

Food is also fun when you are pregnant, however, I’ve started getting some really heinous heartburn which is obnoxious and really interferes with my gluttony. However I did still manage to eat bacon for breakfast all three days this weekend. #lifegoals

Vegan Eggnog French Toast. And Bacon…

Armed with Tums, I’ve been trying to cook lots of delicious things while I have time to do so, and trying to venture into restaurants to be served delicious things by other people since I know my dining out habits are going to be curtailed pretty soon. Fun fact: when you can’t booze, dinner bills are way cheaper.

Seattle’s Manolin is a newly discovered favorite. Seafood-focused small plates that are almost too stunning to eat and a really enticing looking cocktail menu (dammit). They don’t take reservations so show up early.

Ceviche Mixto at Manolin.

Doesn’t that look amazing? Anyway. If you need me I’ll be on the couch binge watching Bachelor in Paradise.

Pop-In@Nordstrom x Warby Parker

August 19, 2015 / / Leave a comment

My eyesight is TERRIBLE. If a 20-20 vision person (if you are one of these I hate you) looks through my glasses they are usually pretty horrified.

A really annoying thing about having horrible vision? Purchasing glasses. I really hate going in to the eye doctor to do this. Glasses are effing expensive and the somewhat affordable ones can be pretty hideous.

Enter Warby Parker, a fantastic source for designer-quality eyewear at an affordable price. As long as you have a current glasses prescription and some sort of camera on your computer, you can purchase their glasses online (they have brick and mortar locations, too, though not in Seattle). I own the Zagg frames and love them. Also fairly awesome: Warby Parker is socially conscious and for each pair purchased, donates a pair of eyeglasses to someone in need.

This summer, Warby Parker and Nordstrom have teamed up, and Warby Parker is being featured at Pop-In@Nordstrom: an ongoing series of themed pop-up shops you may have noticed at your local Nordstrom.

The Warby Parker Pop-In features a curated assortment of limited edition products including four new, exclusive pairs of sunglasses. My favorite are the Barkley:

Barkley in Jet Black, $95

Classic. I’m also into the Hall, v. glamorous:

Hall in Milk Pearl, $95

You can visit Pop-In@Nordstrom x Warby Parker at the downtown Seattle and Bellevue Square Nordstroms through September 6. This is also going down at four other Nordstrom locations throughout the U.S., and online.

Cool Shit on the Internet

July 23, 2015 / / Leave a comment

Sup. I’m kinda tired, bloated and pregnant-feeling. Good times!

Definitely making this for my kid someday. I think she’ll be impressed.

But hey, it’s almost Friday. Here is a little roundup of some things that recently caught my eye online:

1. Monochromatic fruit salad (Cup of Jo)
Doesn’t that look pretty? Totally stealing this for a brunch gathering. Maybe I should throw a brunch gathering…

2. Where Seattle chefs go for cheap eats (Eater)
Great, mostly under the radar spots.

3. City guides (Roll with Jen)
Delightful guides to San Francisco, Portland, Victoria B.C. and more.

4. Dresses to wear to summer weddings (The New Potato)
I still have a couple more weddings to go to this summer, you?

5. Tips for hosting overnight guests (Cupcakes and Cashmere)
How to not be a shitty hostess. I definitely need to follow the part about leaving remote control instructions so I don’t have to explain mine to my dad every time he stays with us.

Shameless in Seattle

Random rants, epic misadventures, always a good time.

Seattle