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September & October 2023 Book Reviews

This fall has been a big time of transition for my family. LJ started kindergarten and now my days include balancing drop-offs and pick-up for both kindergarten and preschool. Add in a toddler’s (can’t believe it’s not “baby’s” anymore!) nap schedule and a few extracurriculars to the mix, plus just daily life things like meals and laundry and cleaning, and you can probably see why I chose to pare back on other things while I got my bearings in this new stage. I’ve also been prioritizing rest (my goal for November!) and it’s been a refreshing change of pace. Home projects and this blog are creative outlets for me, but it was a good decision to hold them loosely over the past few months so I could actually enjoy this stage of transition for my family. It feels like we’re in a good groove now and I’m ready to be more consistent here again – and what better way than to jump back in than to catch up on my book reviews?

I haven’t had the brain space for too many books these past few months but I did read three books over the course of September and October. Let’s discuss!

The Celebrants by Steven Rowley

In college, it was the six of them: inseparable best friends. Then tragedy struck. Now it’s the five of them and while they don’t see each other as often, they know they can always count on one another to show up when life gets hard. And when life gets super hard, they show up and throw a funeral. This funeral is for the living friend, giving tribute to them and reminding them that they are loved and supported and celebrated. These funerals have happened over the course of decades, and in an intricately-told story weaving past and present together we see both how the past funerals unfolded and how the characters are preparing for and processing the next one, which may be the hardest living funeral yet.

This was a new author to me and I was so impressed with his storytelling. I devoured this book in 24 hours. I simply could not put it down! It was an incredibly intimate portrait of a decades-long friendship that has gone through varying stages of closeness. Poignant, thought-provoking, deep. I loved how the present day struggles of two of the characters were woven in with the history of the past funerals for the others. I highlighted two passages that really struck me: “We weren’t meant to see everything, we weren’t built to do everything, we aren’t capable of knowing everything. At a certain point, peace has to be found with the choices we’ve made.” ” Not everything had to be Paris to be a life experience. It was just that some things needed to be new, and carry with them the air of excitement that comes with the uncharted.” I love when a book causes me to pause and reflect on my own life, and those moments, as well as others throughout, did just that. Ultimately, I thought it was a meaningful look at what it looks like to show up for one another in life’s toughest moments and what it means to live a life well lived. I absolutely loved it and will be thinking about it for quite a while.

The Montessori Toddler: A Parent’s Guide to Raising a Curious and Responsible Human Being by Simone Davies

“Turn your home into a Montessori home–and become a more mindful, attentive, and easygoing parent. It’s time to change the way we see toddlers. Using the principles developed by the educator Dr. Maria Montessori, Simone Davies shows how to turn life with a “terrible two” into a mutually rich and rewarding time of curiosity, learning, respect, and discovery.”

I happened to see this book on the shelf at my local library and decided to check it out. I was vaguely familiar with some of the principles of Montessori and was curious about ways I could implement some of it into our home and daily practices. This book is FULL of practical ideas ranging from how to set up your home to lists of activities for your toddler at different stages of development to advice on cultivating routines for everything from getting dressed to brushing teeth to cleaning up spills and helping in the kitchen. It’s not a book I devoured, but I did enjoy picking it up here and there and reading a bit at a time, writing down little bits of wisdom and advice along the way. It’s definitely aspirational and I’m far from fully implementing this lifestyle for my family, but I am on board with many of the Montessori ideals and found this book to be really helpful. I was inspired to make tweaks to our routines with all my kids, even the ones outside of toddlerhood, and I have appreciated those changes in our life! It was inspiring for me and if you’re interested in Montessori at all, I think it’s worth checking out, even if you just want to browse through for some ideas.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit and they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends during their first term. By the end of the year, April was dead. Now, a decade later, the man convicted of killing April, whom Hannah testified against, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder. (summary adapted from Amazon)

The cover gives very psychological thriller vibes, and it does eventually have a few heart-pumping scenes, but this book felt more like a mystery and less like a thriller to me. I will say, I kept having a deja vu sense – it was my first time reading it but it felt like a book I’ve read before. Even though it’s not psychological, it reminded me of Girl on a Train or The Woman in the Window – Hannah isn’t necessarily an unreliable narrator, but there are elements of questioning her memories that makes it feel similar to other books I’ve read. I liked the dual timelines and enjoyed picturing the Oxford setting (in my mind, it looked kind of like Harry Potter ha!) but the characters were all a bit unlikeable for various reasons so it was hard to know who to root for and who to suspect. The mystery was intriguing and I was invested in figuring out what exactly happened to April, so it held my interest even when it got a little slow at times. It kept me guessing for a long time, and while I did suspect some aspects of the twisty reveals, there were also parts that I was completely surprised by. Overall, it doesn’t land as a top recommendation for me but it was a solid mystery and if you’re in the mood for a suspenseful read without gore or jumpiness, this would be a good choice.

We’re approaching my favorite time of year to read – cozied up with a blanket by a twinkling Christmas tree! – and I’m excited to dive into the huge stack of books I just checked out from the library. If you have any must-read recommendations to add, send them my way!

Reveal: The Kids’ Closet is finished!

The kids’ closet renovation is finished!

It’s hard to believe that just two weeks ago, the closet looked like this:

In my previous closet post I shared that we went to The Container Store and purchased a custom-designed Elfa system perfectly catered to our needs. I’m happy to report that while you can spend a little more to have it professionally installed, it was incredibly easy to install ourselves!

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself – let’s back up and quickly talk through the prep I did for the space. First off, I had to obviously take everything out of the closet. I took down the rods and shelf and patched all the holes and dings in the walls.

I knew a fresh coat of paint would make a big impact but I didn’t want to spend any additional money. After raiding my paint stash, I discovered I had quite a bit of Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze leftover from painting the living room ceiling. I don’t normally paint walls in a flat sheen but since it’s just a closet, I figured it wasn’t a big deal. We ordered the Elfa system in Graphite, a nice dark bronze metal color, and I thought the monochromatic look would look really cool so I went for it. I’ll admit, I had a moment of doubt when the walls were painted (it’s just so dark!) but once we started putting up the closet system, those doubts vanished. I love the tone-on-tone look!

Once the walls cured, it was time to install. The most important step of installing an Elfa system is getting the top tracks at the right height and perfectly level. We measured up from the floor according to the instructions, used a level to ensure the track was, well, level, and marked each hole. We drilled pilot holes, installed the anchors and screws, and attached the tracks in place. The system comes with everything you need except for the actual tools used to install.

Installing the tracks was the only time a tool was needed, as the rest of the system pieces all just interlock with one another. I hung the vertical tracks off the top track and then locked the shelves, drawers, and rods in place according to the instructions. It was like a big, satisfying puzzle! I won’t re-invent the wheel and repeat all the directions here, but suffice to say the instructions are clear, helpful, and easy to follow. The only snag we ran into was with the drawers – the drawer slides keep falling out after we thought we locked them in place. Turns out, they need to be pushed in very hard to fully lock in place and once we pushed the back rod harder than we thought we needed to, we heard the click that locked them in completely. Other than that, the whole install was quick and smooth sailing!

We did run into a small snag where they accidentally sent me one drawer the wrong size (we had made edits to the original design and for some reason this change didn’t catch in the system). The Container Store was quick to apologize and send me the correct item free of charge. I kept the mistaken drawer and use it as bonus storage on the shelf! I’m very pleased with not only the system but their customer service. Feels like the right time to mention again that this project is in no way sponsored by The Container Store – we paid for it all ourselves and this was just my experience!

Once the system was installed, it was time to bring the clothes back in. Most of their current size + current season clothing is actually stored in the dresser in their room but they each have some hanging clothing too. They like to get their clothes themselves so their current size/season hanging clothes are together on the bottom rod and the current size + off season clothes are hanging on the top rod. I purchased these kid-size hangers – I like that they’re thin, sturdy, made from recycled plastic, and come in cute colors! They are larger than the little baby hangers we had before and will last well into the teen years if not beyond. I got the ocean blues set for LJ and the sunset pinks set for Vi.

Previously, the dresser in their room was stuffed with clothing because I had to store both winter and summer clothing there. I was able to move all their winter clothes into the new drawers in the closet to free up space for their summer stuff to fit comfortably in the dresser and it functions so much better! I’ll swap the two once we get into fall (despite Starbucks bringing back pumpkin spice it is nowhere near fall clothing yet for us haha).

We receive a lot of handmedown clothing from friends and I love it, but I previously had to just store it in giant tubs on the floor. I used the remaining drawers to store Vi’s future 5T clothing, but I needed more storage for other sizes so I purchased these baskets for the shelves and hung little tags off each one to label the contents. I struggled to find baskets the right size, but these fit the shelves perfectly and bonus, are ethically and sustainably made!

I had so much extra shelf space that I could bring in all their extra sheets and blankets, which had the ripple effect of freeing up space in my tiny hallway linen closet. I also keep a little suitcase in here for easy access when we pack for trips and despite storing all that, I still have empty space on the shelves!

It’s nice to know that we have a lot of room to grow and I’m imagining in future years we’ll be storing things like sports uniforms or band equipment or whatever else our kids need in here.

This closet was an investment but I know it will serve us very well for many years to come!

August 2023 Book Reviews

Between three major milestones and jumping back into projects with the kids’ closet update, August has been a busy month! I did manage to get three books read and I’m excited to discuss them today so without further ado, let’s get to it!

I F ound You by Lisa Jewell

“In the windswept British seaside town of Ridinghouse Bay, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on a beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside. Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, newlywed Lily Monrose grows anxious when her husband fails to return home from work one night. Soon, she receives even worse news: according to the police, the man she married never even existed. Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty Ross are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. The annual trip to Ridinghouse Bay is uneventful, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable—and it’s not just because he’s a protective older brother. Who is the man on the beach? Where is Lily’s missing husband? And what ever happened to the man who made such a lasting and disturbing impression on Gray?” (review taken from Amazon)

I feel a little conflicted writing this review, because I liked it, but didn’t love it. On the plus side, I thought it was a compelling read with the three different storylines that slowly start to overlap and connect. It’s a character-driven plot and fairly slow for a thriller but still was one I read quickly and enjoyed figuring out. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why this book didn’t totally work for me and then I realized: I had to suspend too much reality regarding reasonable decisions parents would make. Every single adult in this book made terrible decisions regarding children and it just did not seem plausible to me that these things would happen. With Alice in particular, I believe her character was supposed to come across as a bit of a normal/endearing/relatable mess but her choices just made her seem very reckless. It’s also a fairly light thriller until one chapter in particular where it takes a sharp turn into a very dark and disturbing scene that felt pretty jarring in the context of the whole book. Overall, I would say I enjoyed it as an average thriller but would give preference to Watching You.

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Elise Hannaway is a theoretical physicist and has been struggling to survive on her adjunct professor salary. She moonlights for a fake-dating service to make ends meet but all that may be coming to an end because she’s finally up for a faculty position at MIT. There’s just one little problem: when her interview process begins, she realizes the faculty member in charge is Jack Smith, the older brother of the guy she has been fake-dating and even worse, the experimental physicist who ruined the career of Elsie’s mentor and called into question the validity of theoretical physics. Elsie doesn’t want to play nice with Jack, but it seems like she has to, especially because he sees right through all her people-pleasing personality shifts and notices who she really, truly is.

This is now the third book I’ve read by this author (also read The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain). They are all about women in STEM (which I love!) and science is a strong part of the plot (like, I will skip an entire paragraph here and there because it’s science-y and way above my head). The downfall to this is books do end up feeling very similar in plot, characters, conflicts, etc. so it can kind of feel a bit like you’re reading the same kind of thing over and over. That being said, I liked Elsie and Jack most of all the characters and think this book would rank as my favorite of the three. Their banter is witty and enjoyable and their conflict and storyline felt the most believable of all the books. I loved the side characters, especially Jack’s grandma who makes some very memorable appearances. It was also fun to see that Hazelwood has created this little world of science where we had little cameos from the characters in the other books. I would give this one a rated-R ranking for language and steam just like the first two (although I would say this one is the steamiest), and I would say if you enjoyed either of the first two, you would also enjoy this one.

Dating Mr. Darcy by Kate O’Keeffe

Emma Brady agreed to go on Dating Mr. Darcy, a reality TV dating show inspired by Pride and Prejudice, for one reason and one reason only: to promote her struggling activewear apparel line. She’s not looking to fall in love and certainly not with the show’s lead: Sebastian Huntington-Ross. He’s arrogant and rude and okay, yes, attractive, but Emma can totally ignore that thanks to his other undesirable qualities. That is, until she actually gets to know him. Because once she starts to discover what he’s really and truly like, she finds it harder and harder to convince herself she can’t find love on a TV show.

I saw this book on the shelf and decided to grab it on a whim. My expectations were that it would be a light, easy, cute, and predictable read and that more or less was the case. It didn’t feel particularly original since it’s essentially just combining two well-known scenarios (The Bachelor reality TV show Pride and Prejudice), but I wasn’t really expecting or needing it to be groundbreaking. It was . . . fine. The premise seemed entertaining and I wanted to enjoy it, but it fell flat for me for a couple reasons. For one, I couldn’t quite get into Emma and Sebastian as a couple. Their misunderstandings were a little too silly and Emma’s assumptions too immature – it felt like we were trying too hard to create conflict out of pretty minor things. I would have liked to see this as a dual-perspective book to get more invested in Sebastian and the relationship in general. I also thought there was way too much time given to the tension and cattiness with the other contestants and, without spoiling anything, I’ll just say I was personally unsatisfied with how everything resolved in the end. It’s the first of three (looks like book 2 is about their wedding and book 3 is about their trying for a baby) but I am not interested enough in these characters or their storyline to pursue any future books. I will say, this is a clean book (no language, no intimacy beyond kissing) which can be hard to find these days so if that’s a priority for you, this one might be worth it.

What have you been reading lately?

Plans for the Kids’ Closet

I’m gearing up for my next home project and it might not be the most glamorous space, but I’m very excited for adding storage in the kids’ closet!

The previous owners had created their own system with a DIY shelving unit and a couple hanging rods. The setup was okay and hopefully worked well for their needs, but wasn’t a very efficient system for our needs. It felt like there was a lot of underutilized space and with two kids using this room, we need to maximize every inch.

When we replaced the carpet last June, we discovered the shelving unit was actually bolted to the floor underneath the carpet. They had cut a notch in the old carpet to accommodate it and we didn’t want to do that with our new carpet, so we decided to dismantle the whole thing. We’ve been living without the shelves ever since, and while I wasn’t sad to see the old system go, I have definitely felt the loss of storage. Right now all the kids’ clothes are either hanging or stuffed into their dresser and I have bins with hand-me-down clothes in future sizes underneath the hanging storage (and a garbage bag full of clothes a friend passed along that I haven’t had a chance to sort through yet). It’s been working okay, but I’m ready for more efficiency!

One of the challenges in thinking about a new closet design was having to think about what we need now, when we have a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl sharing a room, and what we’ll need in the future, when we have two teenaged boys sharing this room (eventually, Ollie and Vi will switch places). There’s also a small door to an attic space that we need to keep accessible, and the longest side wall isn’t deep enough to accommodate hangars.

All those challenges had me feeling a little out of my depth. We debated coming up with our own solution using Ikea storage and some DIY hacks, but it was going to require a lot of finagling with the attic access to maximize like we wanted to. My friend recommended The Container Store and their free closet planning service so we decided to check them out before jumping into an Ikea project.

We were totally blown away by the options at The Container Store and the fact that their planning service is totally free. (I want to emphasize that this is in no way sponsored by them, we paid for everything and this was just our honest experience!) We didn’t need to make an appointment and were just able to talk with a consultant about our needs. He took all the dimensions we brought and in just a couple hours was able to create a plan using their Elfa system that perfectly fit our space and our needs. Their rendering even included a 3D view which was so helpful to visualize what it will look like!

It was the simplest planning we’ve ever done and he ordered all the necessary pieces for us – bonus for us that they were having a 25% off sale! It ended up costing a little less than double what our makeshift Ikea hack was going to cost, but with a lot less work and a LOT more storage and function so it felt worth it to us. The system arrives this week so I need to prep the closet for install now.

Before the system arrives, I need to:

– remove all the remaining shelves and hanging rods

– patch and paint all the walls

– re-install baseboards (these got ripped out when we updated the carpet and were never added back in)

I would also really like to replace the light fixture and possibly add a small mirror. I know that’s not the biggest deal in the closet, but I think it would be fun to add some of those touches.

If you want to see updates in real time, be sure to follow along this week on Instagram!

Three Milestones in Three Days

Last week was an emotional roller coaster of a week, as each of my kids hit a pretty big milestone. Truly, any of these events could make for their own full blog post, but I’m going to try to keep my reflections somewhat brief and condense them into one post here.

A few years ago, I blogged about the firsts and the lasts in my motherhood journey and those words from years ago still resonate deeply with me today. Last week was full of both firsts and lasts and it was a lot to process as it was happening – writing this blog post was very therapeutic for me and it finally allowed me to feel all the feelings (I didn’t cry during these milestones, but I sure cried writing this post!) Before I jump in, I do want to share what you’ll probably notice – after careful thought, Justin and I have decided we are no longer going to be sharing our older children’s full faces on my blog or Instagram. Ollie is still a baby and will continue to change looks in the future, so we’re okay sharing his face for just a bit longer, but for Vi and LJ, we have decided to keep their face private going forward. I will still be sharing our life and family here, particularly as it relates to my home projects and how we live in our home, just with a little more privacy for my kids.

And with that, let’s take a look at last week’s events:

Vi’s (unexpected) First Haircut

On Monday, Vi got ahold of scissors and chopped off a significant amount of her hair. I discovered a huge clump of sweet little blond ringlets on our stairs and was distraught – she’s never had a haircut! Her hair is fine and very slow-growing and it felt shocking that what took four years to grow out was suddenly gone. No more cute ponytails and braids, at least for quite a while, and I had to grieve the unexpected loss.

Tuesday we got her in for a real haircut to fix the damage and I decided to make it a special occasion. I hired a babysitter for the boys, and Vi and I got dressed up in dresses and headed to the salon. She absolutely glowed in the chair – she was so happy and excited for the experience!

Now she has a sweet little bob; it’s actually very cute and we were both happy with the outcome. Afterwards we got some ice cream and I was thankful to have turned the situation into a special memory with my girl.

LJ Started Kindergarten

The day after Vi’s first haircut, LJ had his first day of kindergarten.

To be honest, this was the milestone we prepared the most for. We have been talking about it for months. LJ is very interested in time and calendars and knowing what to expect; he is constantly asking how many days until x or how many minutes until y or what to expect at event z. Suffice to say there has been a lot of counting down to kindergarten and talking about when it will start, how long are the days, will there still be time to play, etc.

As the day approached, I really enjoyed going through the preparations with him. We had fun shopping for school supplies together (except for backpacks, but that story has a good ending!) and going to registration. It was an exciting day when we got the introduction letter from his teacher. Justin and I hired a babysitter to watch Vi and Ollie so we could both go with LJ to Meet the Teacher night and give him our complete focus and attention. All these little experiences helped us prepare our hearts and minds for this big transition.

A few days before the first day, I asked him if there was anything he was still nervous about and after thinking a bit, he said recess. He remembered that when we came for registration, the playground was full of kids and he was used to just his one small class being outside at preschool. I had to drop off a couple things at the school so we asked in the office how many classes go at once and if we could play a bit on the playground right then. LJ and Vi spent ten minutes running around and checking out all the equipment. That little experience helped clear the rest of his nerves – he felt he knew pretty much what to expect and was totally ready to go!

Justin was off work on the first day so we all got to spend the morning together and then take LJ to school. He was so excited and that helped us also be hyped up and excited with him. I expected to cry but didn’t – I felt a few bittersweet twinges but overall the whole experience felt joyful. I think we were all really well prepared for this transition so it just truly felt positive and exciting. The day did feel a little long for me and I was itching to go pick him up, but we were glad to find out he had a great first day and was excited to go back again!

Ollie’s First Birthday

The day after LJ started kindergarten, Ollie turned one.

Oh boy. I don’t even know how to start this one.

Ollie is my last baby. Every milestone with him is exciting, but a little extra bittersweet because his firsts are also my finals. His was the final time I heard a first word or saw a first tooth poking through or cheered for a first crawl. He isn’t walking yet, but I know soon I will be reaching my hands out to catch the toddling fall after the first few steps. There will soon be a final bottle. Someday there will be a final diaper and a final stroller ride and a final night in a crib (if you’re wondering if I’m crying now writing these words, the answer is YES!) I will celebrate each milestone wholeheartedly, even as that heart breaks a tiny bit at saying goodbye to the previous stage.

So all that to say, his first birthday was celebratory but also very bittersweet. The night before, I held him a little longer before putting him to bed, knowing that it was my last night of my last baby year. And then in the morning, I had my final one year old! We kept the celebration pretty simple with a family dinner and a cake that Vi and I made earlier that day, and will have a joint party for both Vi and Ollie in a couple weeks.

Ollie is the sweetest, most easygoing baby. When I drop him off in the nursery at church I often get asked “is he always like this!?” because he’s just content the entire time. He’s happy, he plays, he observes, he snuggles, he interacts – he is just along for the ride and unless he is hungry, tired, or sick, he generally isn’t fussy. For basically his whole life, he’s been carted around to one activity or another and he adjusted to sleeping in the car and having a somewhat flexible schedule. He thankfully doesn’t mind the car seat and travels well!

He is very curious and enjoys getting into things. He just started crawling on both hands and knees within the past month. Before that, he kind of did an army crawl where he drug his right hand along and just used his left hand to pull himself around. His little teeth crack me up – his canines were actually the first teeth to come in so he looked like a little vampire at first!

He loves clapping and doing “pat a cake” and “so big” with people. He also really loves music and will bop along to just about any beat, although I discovered he jams the hardest to Blink 182’s “All the Small Things” haha! He is by far our best sleeper and has been sleeping consistently 7 pm – 8 am for most of this year (I know, I know. I have no idea how we did this but it was amazing!) He still loves his bottle but he also loves food and will eat anything we put in front of him. He does great staying overnight with my parents (took a little while to warm up to my dad for some reason but they’re besties now!) and that has really allowed us to have a bit of freedom back this past year.

He didn’t initially like baths but now he really loves them, although we just tried a bath with all three kids and I think that was a bit overwhelming for him. The older two absolutely adore him. He is smothered with hugs, kisses, and affection all day long and mostly takes even the more aggressive sibling love in stride. He loves daddy and he loves mama and we enjoy seeing his toothy smile light up whenever we come into the room.

He surprised us on his birthday with a new trick and started crawling up the stairs. We started following behind him and realized he could go the entire way up by himself! So that’s another first/last…and now we have to figure out a gate situation one final time.

My sweet little Ollie, I am so so thankful you are in our family. We love you so much and are so grateful for this year of your life!

Whew! Now I’m ready to transition back into project mode . . . and no one is allowed to have any more milestones for at least a month so my mama heart can recover. 😉

A DIY Backpack Compromise

We’re gearing up for a big milestone around here: LJ is about to start kindergarten!

A few weeks ago we were in Target getting school supplies and had an unexpected meltdown in the backpack aisle. I wanted to buy a backpack that would last all the way through elementary school at a minimum, but LJ saw a Sonic backpack and immediately decided no other backpacks would do.

LJ loves Sonic . . . for now. But what about next year? I wanted to prioritize sustainability and I just know that in a year or two (if not even sooner!) he might be tired of Sonic and want something else. But according to his impassioned pleas as he literally laid his body down in the middle of the aisle in protest, he will always love Sonic forever and pleasemommyIonlywantthisbackpackIpromiseI’llnevergettiredofit. We were at an impasse.

It is important to me that he likes his backpack and feels some level of autonomy in these decisions, so I wanted to try and come up with a solution that worked for us both. And then I had an idea – a DIY idea!

I researched various backpack options and landed on Terra Thread. Their backpacks are high quality, fair trade certified, and sustainably made so that made me happy. I got this backpack in Tidal Blue, which is the color of Sonic, and that made LJ happy. And then, for the final touch . . .

. . . I bought a Sonic iron-on patch! LJ gets Sonic on his backpack, I get well-made, long-lasting quality, and the best part is whenever he does get tired of Sonic, it’s easy to remove. Win, win, win!

I had never used an iron-on patch before and it took just a bit of trial and error, but overall was an easy little project to complete. Here’s what I did:

I initially thought I wanted Sonic in the very center, but ultimately landed on having him stand on top of the logo. I think it seems unexpected and fun there!

Once the patch was exactly where I wanted it, I covered it with a tea towel.

The directions said to use a tea towel and high heat, but I wasn’t exactly sure how high to go so I started on the cotton setting (medium-high) since the backpack is cotton canvas. That was not hot enough and the patch easily peeled off. I truly needed HIGH heat to fully activate the glue and have it adhere properly. I turned it all the way up and placed the iron on top of the tea towel over the patch and pressed firmly for a full 60 seconds.

I also opened up the bookbag and firmly pressed the iron onto the patch from the other side of the fabric for another 60 seconds.

Lastly, I firmly pressed the edges of the patch for 2-3 seconds at a time. This wasn’t in the directions but I think it helped ensure the edges were firmly adhered. My mom suggested throwing in a few stitches (she did live through the 80’s so she’s a patch expert! 😉 ) and I might do that if I notice the edges coming up over time but for now it doesn’t seem necessary.

Voila! A Sonic backpack that will actually grow with LJ. This truly was the best compromise for both of us and he is SO happy with it. He’s already talking about adding other patches like Tails and Mario and honestly, I’m fine with that! He can personalize this with as many patches as he wants and I’m looking forward to how the look will evolve over the years.

Now on to kindergarten!

July 2023 Book Reviews

Hello August!

This summer I kind of took an unplanned break from home projects and blog posts and such. For a myriad of reasons, it felt best for me to let those things slide to the back burner and just enjoy time with my family and get back to the basics around my life and my home. Other than a few small projects and posts here and there, I decided to just give myself time off from it all and it was refreshing and just what I needed. Now that it’s August, it feels like a perfect time for a fresh start – school is approaching (LJ is going to be in kindergarten!! What!!!) and I’m feeling ready to get back to projects and plans for our home. I’m starting to plan for my next few projects and I’m getting very excited to jump back in!

Despite taking a break from other things this summer, I didn’t take a break from reading. I read three books in July and I’m excited to discuss them today!

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Harriet and Wyn broke up five months ago but still haven’t told their best friends. Harriet has decided to share the news with everyone during their annual reunion trip to Maine but to her shock, Wyn is already there when she shows up. It turns out, one of their friends called him and begged him to come because the cottage that has hosted this yearly getaway is for sale, making this the grand finale trip. Harriet and Wyn realize everything must go perfectly for their friends this week so they have no choice but to pretend they are still engaged and in love for the entire trip. After being a totally in love, made-for-each-other couple for years, how hard can that be?

I don’t mind a trope-y book and enjoyed this one despite the fact that the miscommunication trope isn’t one of my favorites (so much could be solved if people just talked honestly!) Besides making me want to take a summer trip to Maine asap, I thought the chemistry and tension between Wyn and Harriet was great and I easily was hoping for them to figure things out. I appreciated that their love journey felt realistic and dreamy at the same time. I really loved the eclectic friend group and how their relationships developed and grew over the years; again, watching them handle changing seasons of life and friendship felt realistic. It’s told in a way that’s relatable and fun and makes you feel like you’re in on all their inside jokes and traditions. One thing that didn’t work for me was the length – it clocks in at 385 pages and that is just too long for this type of book. There were too many details about too many side plots in the background chapters (Harriet’s family, Wyn’s family, various stories about the friend group) and coupled with an angsty, miscommunication trope in the present day chapters, it felt pretty drawn out at times. It could have been 80-100 pages shorter and still been great. All that being said, I still enjoyed it overall and would recommend if you want an easy, fun, somewhat predictable vacation read!

Homecoming by Kate Morton

On Christmas Eve 1959, a terrible family tragedy is discovered at a country estate in Australia; the whole town gets swept up in the ensuing murder investigation that is never conclusively resolved. Nearly 60 years later, struggling freelance writer Jess is returning to Australia after hearing the news that her beloved grandmother, Nora Turner-Bridges, has fallen very ill. When Jess discovers a true crime novel in Nora’s belongings, she learns of the Turner Family Tragedy of 1959 and her own family’s shocking connection to it. Her journalist instinct immediately kicks in and Jess sets out to discover more about this family and what exactly happened all those years ago.

Listen, if Kate Morton writes it, I want to read it. She is my favorite author (dare I say: ever?) and I just adore getting swept up in her books. This one was no exception! The story is a slow burn mystery intricately woven over the course of three generations and despite featuring many different characters, it was easy for me to follow along. The book is hefty at 500+ pages, but I was spellbound and just wanted to keep reading and reading and watch everything unfold. I will say, with every book of hers I read, I get this hard to describe sense. I recently discovered there is a German word for longing called “sehnsucht” and according to Wikipedia, “some psychologists use the word to represent thoughts and feelings about all facets of life that are unfinished or imperfect, paired with a yearning for ideal alternative experiences.” This is a good way to describe how Kate Morton books make me feel. I’m captivated, I’m satisfied, yet I always have this sense of bittersweet longing for alternate plotlines. But isn’t that how history is? If one thing changed, maybe so much would change. If we only had this answer or this person’s motivation or personal feelings or could see the full chain of events, we would understand so much more. It’s how real life is and how looking back on history is, so I believe it’s also how well-written historical fiction should be. Kate Morton is just the best at it in my opinion. I loved this book and wish I could read it for the first time again just to experience it all once more.

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes

Following the death of her never-married great aunt Dot, Laurie heads back to her hometown in Maine to clear out Dot’s cottage and get things ready to sell. When clearing out an old trunk, she finds a wooden duck tucked underneath some quilts and has more questions than answers. Why does Dot have this duck? What are the markings on the bottom? Why was it tucked away like a secret? Laurie enlists the help of her best friend, June, and her first love, Nick, to figure out the story behind the duck. It seems to be turning into an uninteresting dead end . . . until the duck disappears under unusual circumstances. Now Laurie must band together an eclectic bunch of people to try and get the duck back and solve the mystery of it’s importance in Dot’s life.

Laurie is an almost-forty, plus-sized woman who has consciously decided that she does not want to get married or have children. (I include plus-sized because the author definitely wants that to be known about her. I found it odd how many times her specific clothing size of 18 is mentioned.) Kudos to the author for breaking out of the mold and portraying a woman who wants an alternate type of happy ever after. I love the goal to represent an empowered woman who makes choices that don’t fit the mainstream societal narrative, but the problem for me was that I didn’t find Laurie to be altogether likeable. What was meant to come across as strong and independent felt more like stubborn and selfish at times, and her preferences for independence get really repetitive. The cast of side characters is interesting and adds a layer of fun, but I was very underwhelmed by her rekindled (and underdeveloped) relationship with Nick. Their whole romance just fell flat for me. The duck caper was initially cute but eventually silly; I found myself bored with the slow-moving storyline and skimmed quite a bit. Overall, it’s a fine read but after really enjoying the author’s other book, Evvie Drake Starts Over, I was ultimately let down by this one.

What have you been reading lately?

Restoring our Patio Set with Teak Oil

Around Memorial Day weekend, we got our patio set out for the summer and oooph, it was looking rough.

I initially thought the wood was teak, but after digging back through my purchase history I discovered this set is acacia wood. I bought it from Target in summer 2019 so it’s been through four summers and the wood on the coffee table in particular was looking very weathered. This set lives on the part of our patio covered by a porch, so most of it is protected from the bulk of rain and sun but the coffee table sits furthest out and gets more of the elements. The rest of the set was still a warm brown color but the table top was completely gray!

When we bought this set we were looking for a good, budget-friendly option that could last us several years – we may eventually have a patio renovation and invest in different furniture but in the meantime we’re trying to make this one work for us as long as possible. We hardly used our patio in June due to travels and other plans but in July we have several outdoor gatherings planned here and this set will get a ton of use. I decided to try and give the coffee table a little TLC and get it looking much nicer for these gatherings and just our general daily use too – it looked so great afterwards that I ended up working on the entire furniture set.

Here’s the process I followed:

Materials Used

-orbital sander

-80, 120, 220 and 400-grit sandpaper

–tack cloth

–teak oil

-2-3 clean cloths

-drop cloths

First up, I needed to sand off the top layer of dirt, grime, and weathered wood. I used 80-grit, then 120-grit, then 220-grit to get back to a smooth, clean surface.

After sanding, there was sawdust in all the little cracks between boards, but I figured out that flipping the table over and shaking it back and forth a bit in the grass acted like a bristle brush of sorts and knocked the sawdust out. Much faster than cleaning each one by hand! Once the majority of the sawdust was gone, I used a tack cloth over the entire surface to pick up the remaining amount.

It took some trial and error for me to figure out how much teak oil to use, but eventually I realized the answer is: a LOT.

I ended up pouring oil directly onto the wood; if you imagine drizzling olive oil over top of a salad, that’s kind of the process I used to pour this oil.

I then used a clean cloth to lightly spread the oil so the entire surface was coated.

I waited about 5 minutes or so to really let the oil soak into the wood, then I wiped off the excess with my cloth and let it dry overnight.

Side note: I did this outdoors so there was plenty of ventilation, but I should have put drop cloths down underneath the furniture. I did this on the grass so the oil wouldn’t drip and potentially stain my patio, but I wasn’t thinking about how the oil might damage the grass and well…now I have a big dead spot of grass in my yard. Oops!

There was a slightly gritty feel to the wood after drying – some particles from the air settled on the surface creating a rough feel – so I used a fine 400-grit sandpaper and very light pressure to sand off the texture and leave the surface smooth.

Once the table was finished, it kind of made the rest of the set look worse in comparison, so I repeated the process with the visible parts of the lounge set (I did not worry about the part covered by cushions). It refreshed the whole set!

I will admit, I was surprised to see how much variation there was in the wood after this process. I sanded everything down to the same layer, yet the oil made some pieces look deep red, some light yellow, and other fell somewhere in between. The original product was likely stained to have closer color matches; looking closely at the original wood remaining under the cushions, there is a bit of variation, but nothing like there is now.

The variation doesn’t bother me too much, but I did do a second coat of oil on the lightest wood to try and deepen the color. For those areas, I just waited until the first coat was dry and applied more oil. It did darken slightly, but there is still a wide range of color. Because the inconsistent color is, well, consistent, throughout, I’m considering this a feature and not a problem and going with it. If you are refinishing your outdoor wood furniture and want a more consistent look, it may be worth looking into stain options.

Overall I’m happy with how it turned out and we’re excited to continue to use this set for years to come!

June 2023 Book Reviews

Happy Friday and happy Book Review Day! It’s coming a little late this month since we spent the first week of July on family vacation. This is worth mentioning because between our trip to Prague in early June and our trip to Virginia last week, plus my recent resignation from my work-from-home job, I’ve been in an easy-breezy, relaxed and vacation-oriented state of mind which has definitely played into my reading preferences.

In June I read six books and for once, they were all the same genre. I was just really in the mood for light, fun, summer love and each book I read happens to fall into the romance or rom-com genre. I would also say that each book has about the same steam and language rating – they all have 1-2 open door scenes and moderate language. I didn’t plan for them all to be so similar, but that’s just how this month went! While they all fall into the same category, they were not at all the same book and my feelings on them widely varied so let’s get into the nitty-gritty!

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Poppy and Alex are best friends and total opposites. While they haven’t lived in the same place since graduating, they always reconnect in the summer when they spend one week together on vacation. It has always been a highlight of the year, until two years ago when things got messy and ruined everything. Poppy is desperate to get her life back on track and she knows the last time she was truly happy was on vacation with Alex, so she invites him on vacation again. She knows this week will make or break their friendship forever – and it’s time to finally address what has been hidden in the heart of this relationship all this time.

The thing about Emily Henry’s book titles is that they can be kind of misleading. I felt this way after reading Beach Read and I felt the same thing reading this book. It’s not a terrible thing, it just doesn’t always prepare me mentally for what I’m actually going to read and can throw me for a bit of a loop. I expected this book to involve a lot of different people, but in reality it focused mostly on Poppy and Alex and the different versions of themselves as they grow and change over the years. The plot jumps back and forth between the present vacation and the ten previous vacations; while I did like the alternating timelines, I felt all the back and forth made for a very slow start and took me a while to get invested in the story and characters. Eventually I did get invested and really wanted to root for Alex and Poppy, although I have to say I liked Alex more than Poppy. Their friendship and more-than-friendship was believable and I enjoyed the friends-to-lovers trope – overall I think this is a fairly solid romance read!

Talk Boo k ish to Me by Kate Bromley

Kara is a successful romance author in a bit of a rut. She is frantic for inspiration for her latest novel and when her college sweetheart and first love unexpectedly shows up in her best friend’s wedding party, she realizes this unfortunate event might actually have a plus side. Ryan is infuriating and Kara has no interest in starting things up again, but she can’t deny that her creative spark lights up when he’s around. When he needs a place to stay before the wedding, Kara offers her place. The close proximity is guaranteed to help her write the best novel, but will it also inspire her to take another chance on love?

One of my children accidentally signed me up for a free trial of Kindle Unlimited so I decided to take advantage and download some random titles for our trip. This was one of the suggested titles and sounded interesting but unfortunately was a big miss for me. At one point Kara lists out the “formula” she uses for her novels. It’s amusing in the funny-because-it’s-true kind of way – she just described the plotline of every single Hallmark holiday movie – but the thing is, the book itself felt like the author was trying to plug things into that formula and it just didn’t hit for me. Kate and Ryan felt a little forced but the book was still falling into a “not my favorite but still an okay read” category UNTIL the absolute worst plot twist. I hated it so much. It’s a nonnegotiable for me and problematic in so many ways. The book simply could never recover afterwards (and I was so unsatisfied by how the side characters reacted!) and I just lightly skimmed the rest. I’m not going to get into spoilers, but you can find them online if you want. I hate to give low ratings, but I’d just skip this one altogether.

Chance of a Lifetime Series (Beginner’s Luck, Luck of the Draw, Best of Luck) by Kate Clayborn

Kit, Zoe, and Greer are three best friends who impulsively buy a lottery ticket and hit the jackpot. Each woman has different hopes and dreams for her future and each one sees the money as a chance to finally reach them. For Kit, she dreams of home and stability and pours her money into buying a fixer upper. Zoe dreams of forgiveness and the money allows her to finally quit her heartless job and start righting past wrongs. Greer dreams of freedom and uses the money to finally get her college degree. While the three friends are chasing dreams and supporting one another, they all also find love in unexpected ways.

You can read any of these as standalones but I think the whole series is enjoyable and am choosing to review all three books together since they’re fairly similar in style and my feelings towards them all are the same. I love a series like this: each book focuses on one woman but there is a ton of overlap (and even sometimes foreshadowing) in characters and plot lines. It just allows you to really get a feel for the town, the relationships, and the quirky little details that make you feel like part of the story. I enjoyed the strong female characters – each one was navigating a new stage of life and growing more into herself but still knew who she was and what she wanted. They’re pretty predictable but there’s good character development and no plot seems too ridiculous or far-fetched. The women and their love interests are all likeable, the relationship dynamics are fun and believable, the plots are sweet and lighthearted without being too cheesy, and it’s just an enjoyable series. These are perfect for when you want to cozy up with a glass of wine and a moderately steamy comfort read!

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

Briana Ortiz’s life feels like it’s going backwards. She just got divorced, had to move back into her childhood home, and has been on a string of bad dates that have made her lose faith that she’ll ever find love again. Worst of all, her brother’s health is declining and though she’s an ER physician, she can’t help him in the way he really needs because she isn’t a match to donate a kidney. On top of all that, the new doctor at work, Jacob Maddox, is a total jerk and might even steal the promotion she wants. It all feels hopeless . . . until Jacob sends her a letter. A really good letter. A letter that makes her realize he’s much more than her first impression, and he might actually be the answer to everything.

It’s no secret I love Abby Jimenez. Different from the Chance of a Lifetime series I just talked about, her books create a little world where there are small overlaps and little mentions of other stories, but they’re all really standalone novels. There are Easter eggs in the novels like the mention of a painting or a YouTube video that if you read all the books you pick up on how these characters all exist in the same universe – it’s just a fun little crossover treat when I spot them! I first met Briana as Alexis’s best friend in Part of Your World; she’s a little involved in that book and Alexis is a little involved here. I really liked Briana as a main character and I loved Jacob. Their witty banter was delightful and I loved watching their relationship develop. The side characters are almost all family members and I adored the entire dynamic; it felt like an ensemble cast family movie dinner scene every time they were all together. I absolutely devoured this book and didn’t want to put it down! In a month where I enjoyed multiple books, this was my favorite and I definitely recommend if you’re looking for a good rom-com!

Do you find yourself reaching for lighter reads in summer too? As always, if you have great recommendations, feel free to leave them in the comments!

The End of an Era (+ Future Possibilities for Our Home Office!)

A few weeks ago, I experienced a big milestone: for the first time, I am fully a stay-at-home mom without an additional job.

Back in 2017 when I was pregnant with LJ, I decided to take a step back from teaching special education. After six full years in the classroom I was excited to transition to being stay-at-home mom and didn’t intend to find another job right away, but when the opportunity came to work part-time from home as a virtual administrative assistant pretty much right after the school year ended, I jumped at the chance.

My role has shifted many times over the years, and I’m super thankful to have worked for a company that allowed a ton of flexibility as my family grew. I had the ability to get many of my tasks done in early morning or evening when my kids were sleeping and of course, nap time and (eventually) preschool was helpful too. During the days, I learned how to just fit it in whenever!

Answering emails while breastfeeding in 2020.

Getting some work done while the kids enjoy a little screen time in 2021.

I truly had the best bosses and co-workers and felt very supported as a working mama; my kids occasionally interrupted (or just straight up joined in) Zoom calls, my coworkers knew that my availability was dependent on demands at home, and I was always met with patience and understanding. A few years ago I wrote this blog post which talked about how I balanced working from home with a baby and a lot of the things I talked about then were true all the way through my work-from-home experience.

A kid or two playing under my desk was a common occurrence

That all being said, it was not without its challenges over the years. There were very difficult stretches of time where it was hard to find any semblance of balance in my life and I felt like I couldn’t keep it all up, but I was always able to stick it out and course correct until I got things back to a place that felt manageable again. Again, I’m so thankful to have worked for a supportive company that allowed me to shift my role based on my personal capacity, as that’s really the only way I was able to make it work for six years.

My work set up in 2023 – Ollie would often nap or play in the pack n play while I worked.

This spring, I started to feel a pull towards staying at home full time with no additional job. My kids are getting older and starting to get involved in activities like little league, gymnastics, and swimming. LJ will be going to kindergarten this fall and we won’t have as much time together each day. Ollie is getting bigger and we’re doing more family outings. It just felt like the right time to transition and focus my full attention on my home and family, and so I decided to resign from my virtual position at the end of May. It was a bittersweet decision! I loved my coworkers (we lived in different states but got to know each other well via video meetings over the years) and appreciated that this job allowed me to grow and utilize a lot of different skills while contributing to our family’s income, but I knew this was the right decision for myself and my family at this time.

I’m just over three weeks into this change and it is so clear to me that this was the right move. The shift in my focus and ability to be there for my family in ways I wasn’t able to fully commit to before has been a wonderful thing; I’m truly grateful and do not take this for granted.

With this transition, there’s another thing that’s changed: the home office is rarely used now. I had previously used this space multiple times a day and now that I’m not working from home, I’m just not really ever in there. It is truly one of my favorite rooms in our entire house so I want to make sure it’s used well and I’m thinking about what that is going to look like in this next phase of life. An art space for the kids? A music room for a piano? A lounge space for reading? Keep the desk and chair for bill paying/blog writing/just less frequent use? A hybrid of purposes? We will see!

As I reflect on the next phase, it’s also fun to think back on all my previous set-ups. I thought it’d be fun to take a quick little look back on where I’ve worked over the years.

In our last house, we didn’t have room for a full office but I was able to tuck a little workspace into the landing at the top of our stairs. It was small but it worked!

When we first moved into this house, I utilized the desk space in the corner of our kitchen as a home office. I had a little more room to spread out here, but because it was right in our kitchen, it always felt like work was right. there.

I started to desire a dedicated work space so I moved into what is now our home office and set up with things I already had on hand.

I loved having a dedicated space and decided to really make it the home office of my dreams in 2020. We DIYed this entire space! You can read all about that process here.

I’m not sure what the future holds in terms of going back to teaching/working part-time/working remotely/whatever other possibility there is. I’m also not sure what direction we’ll take this home office now that I’m not working from home. What I do know right now is that I’m thankful for the previous phases of my life, and I’m enjoying and looking forward to all that is to come in this next one!