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Lifestyle

How to help reset your mind this September

I think it’s safe to say that there’s been a lot of anxiety leading up to this month. Like a lot. For all of us.

Wondering if kids are going back to school? What it will look like? How will it go? So many unknowns and strange “firsts” as we all transition into this next chapter.

But for better or worse, these days are here. The blissfully unscheduled days of summer are coming to a close. The next chapter is here.

And I, for one, am already feeling a little exhausted before we’ve even started. Mentally drained from taking in too much “noise” from the outside world.  From too much planning and worrying.

It’s time to reset.  Time to clear out the cobwebs and reprioritize where my energy and time is going. Read More

Sweet treats

Blueberry galette

One of my very very favorite things about the warmer summer months is shopping at local Farmer’s markets.

I feel so blessed that here in Chicago we have an amazing market, the Green City Market.  The market was founded in 1998, has over 175,000 visitors a year and is widely considered one of the best sustainable markets in the country.  It’s one of my favorite parts about the city

I’ve been shopping there with the kids since they were little.  When Asher and Lillian were just babies it was our “outing” every Wednesday and Saturday morning.  10 years later, we still have our favorite vendors and spots.

Lately, one of our favorite finds has been the blueberries.  We go through at least a pint at the market, and then grab a few more to take home.  There is something so magically delicious about a freshly picked berry.  They honestly taste so much sweeter and juicier than anything we can get at our local store.

This week I wanted to do something a little special as a treat for the kiddos with all of our yummy berries so I baked up this super easy blueberry galette.

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Lifestyle

5 ways to help shift your mood

….to find more JOY! More happy. More peace.

I pride myself on being a girl who is usually pretty optimistic and happy. I can almost always see the glass as half full.

But with everything that has been happening in our world the past six months, I found myself really struggling. My “tools” that previously would have helped me snap out of my “funk” weren’t working this go around. Shifting my mood and mindset felt much harder.

To be honest, if I really think about it, looking back I think I almost had a little bit of mild depression. I can’t say for certain though. I never spoke with anyone professionally, so I say that with caution because I don’t know what actually qualifies as “depression”.  But either way, I felt different. It was more than just my typical anxiety or worry. It felt heavy.

I lost interest in a lot of things. I felt tired (more tired than I should have). My chest felt heavy and tight, all the time. Activities that used to bring me JOY, now felt exhausting and overwhelming. It wasn’t just ONE thing – but rather a lot of little things that felt off. It was one of my first times as an adult, that I can remember feeling overwhelmingly sad.

And I know I wasn’t alone. So many of you shared that you were feeling the same. Along with so many friends and family.  I have a feeling that almost ALL of us were struggling with something similar to some degree.  Somehow just knowing that I wasn’t alone with this feeling – made me feel better.   Read More

Lifestyle

little eyes watching

Whether we’re ready for it or not, in the next several weeks as school begins to resume (either virtually, in person, or a hybrid of both), we will be entering the next chapter of this wild ride we’re calling 2020.  And as we all stumble along trying to figure out our “new normal”, we are surrounded by little eyes anxiously awaiting our next move.

For most of us, this next chapter is filled with unknowns and many real, tangible fears. Trying to juggle our families’ safety, the social & mental wellness of our kids, educational needs, and careers. It’s an impossible conundrum, with NO RIGHT answer. 

Everyone is going to have different needs, different priorities, and therefore choose different options.  And while it may be very tempting at times, it is not ours to judge.  What’s important isn’t whether we choose to send our kids to school or keep them home, but rather how we, as the leaders of our families, handle it.  

Now, more than ever, we have to remember that we have lots of little eyes watching us.  We are the trusted keepers of impressionable hearts and minds.   Read More

Main Dish

Grilled pizza with corn and jalapeno

Grilled pizza is probably my number one favorite indulgence during the summer months.  I’m usually not a huge “pizza” girl.  I can take it or leave it.   But grilled pizza is a whole other category of pizza.  Especially when it’s made with homemade dough and topped with beautiful summer veggies.

During the past few months of quarantine, I’ve been on kind of a sourdough kick.  I make sourdough bread a few times a week.  So I have a few “starters” going at all times.  But the thing about starters is that to keep them alive, you have to discard a little each day.  So I’m always looking for new ways to use my sourdough starter discard.   And so, of course, pizza dough was one of the first things I tried.

We’ve always been big into making our own pizza dough.  It’s honestly so easy and only requires a few ingredients.  This has been our “go to” pizza dough recipe for a few years.  It’s great basic pizza dough.  You can’t go wrong.

But lately, I really wanted a recipe that could utilize my sourdough starter, so I searched high a low.  We’ve tried out several, and each came out a little different.  Probably my favorite to date has been this King Arthur’s recipe for sourdough pizza.  It’s great because it uses a little bit of sourdough starter AND a little yeast.  So it has a great tang, chew, and gets nice and crispy – but still guarantees a great rise.  I am NOT a pizza dough expert, so I’m definitely turned to the experts here when it came to a recipe for my dough.

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Main Dish

Sweet potato & mushroom tacos

No joke, we have tacos at least once a week in our house.  I think “tacos” actually make up one of the four food groups for our kids.  We try and mix up “taco night”, but my kid’s favorite is for sure the old school beef, cheese, and of course the crunchy shells.  The tacos I grew up eating.  While my favorite are these sweet potato & mushroom tacos.

I’m trying, and I mean really trying, to convince my kids to sprinkle in a few veggies into their crunchy shells, and every now and then go completely vegetarian.  We’re getting closer.  The older kids are a little more “open” than the younger two.  But we’re getting there.

So when I was trying to come up with a “veggie” taco we’d all love (and that I’d feel good about)I tried using ingredients we all loved.  My kids are crazy about sweet potatoes and I’m personally obsessed with mushrooms, so I was hoping it would be a hit.

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Side dish, Soup & Salad

Caprese pasta salad

The past few weeks have been really heavy, for a lot of us.  I don’t know if there seems to be more heartache in our world right now, or if we’ve all just slowed down enough to finally see and feel it all.  But either way, I know this time is hard for a lot of us.  And while I recognize that sharing a Caprese pasta salad recipe today isn’t necessarily “fixing” anything that’s going on in our world, sometimes when I don’t know what to do, I cook.

Food has always been a source of comfort and calm for me. When I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, I cook.  Lately, it’s been a lot of bread (if you’ve been following along with me in my Instagram stories you’ve probably witnessed my sourdough obsession), plates of pasta, and food from childhood.  Comfort food.  Things that make me feel good.  After all, food is supposed to make us happy.

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Design

Our patio makeover

You guys, I am so excited about this post. We have been waiting to give our patio (and really our whole yard) a makeover since we moved into this house a year ago, and it feels so good to finally have it done.

We have been talking about, and working on, this for months.  So to finally sit outside on our new sofa (on our level, clean patio) and have a glass of wine with my favorite guy last night, felt amazing. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

If you’ve been following along with me on Instagram you may have seen all my stories lately about the work we’ve been doing outside our home.  Over the past few months we’ve been ripping out ALL of our old landscaping (it was in REALLY bad shape), replacing most of it with sod, and then adding in all new landscaping.  We’ve been doing most of it on our own, and for the most part, have done a pretty ok job (I’m not sure anyone would hire me….but we have plants in the ground).  

We also had some major work to do on our bluestone patio.  It had to be releveled (we had it done professionally, that wasn’t a job we wanted to take on), power washed (a few times), and are now just finishing a few last steps. I attempted to “grout” the stones with polymeric sand myself a few days ago and let’s just say, again, no one is going to hire me.  But we’ll worry about that next week.  For now – on the fun stuff.  All our new goodies!

When I first approached JP with the idea of getting new patio furniture.  I told him it was going to be an “outdoor oasis”.  Our first real “grown-up” patio.   But I promised him I wouldn’t spend a fortune, so I tried to be conscious of our budget.  Here was the original inspiration for our little “outdoor oasis”

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Main Dish

One-pot lemon pasta

It’s been a strange few weeks for all of us, and lately, it’s been getting the best of me.  I usually consider myself to be a really happy go lucky kind of girl.  I can usually see the “good” in just about any situation.  But lately, I haven’t been feeling myself.  I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I just feel off.  A little more tired, a little more impatient, a little more….just not me.

Rather than fighting it, I’m just going with it. Letting myself linger in bed a little longer. Snuggle with the kids a little more.  Chat with JP on the couch a little more with just one more cup of coffee.  

Instead of feeling guilty about not being “on” right now – I’m just trying to remember that as quickly as these feelings came, they will just as quickly go.  Tomorrow is a new day.  Next month, next week and even the next day will bring more changes – good and bad.  So I’m trying to not let myself get too attached to any of it (the good or the bad). And letting it all go.

These days I’m just focusing my energy on things that make me happy.  A great strong cup of coffee before the kids wake up.  Long walks along the beach.  And all the pasta I can get.

Pasta has been a huge love of mine for years.  I lived in Italy years ago when I was in college and was a line chef at an amazing Italian restaurant here in Chicago.  So pasta (and really ALL Italian food) has a special place in my heart.

If I could eat pasta every day, I would (and right now I kind of am), and this one-pot lemon pasta would be at the top of my list.

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Design

How to “paint” your own wallpaper

I tend to be a pretty all or nothing kind of a girl. When I set my mind to something, I’m gonna do it — no matter what.

So when I had a vision for how I wanted to decorate Frankie’s bedroom, nothing was going to stop me.  Not even back-ordered wallpaper.

When I originally planned out Frankie’s bedroom makeover – I had a vision that was all based on this super cool, chic black and white graphic wallpaper. I had been wanting to use it for years, and this bedroom makeover was finally going to be my chance.

I purchased all of his bedding, lighting, artwork, and accessories all based on this specific paper. So when I found out at the last minute that the paper was NEVER going to arrive – I decided to take it my own hands.

I had two options, find something new (in the middle of a pandemic none the less).  Or work with what I had. But leaving these walls white was NOT an option. Read More