This was a strange month, if you look at the update on my March goals below… I was only able to fully check off one of the nine goals I set, but I made much more progress than it seems! I moved the ball forward on each of them, again proving to myself that setting these little-by-little goals is worth it, even when I don’t get the glory of a big fat checkmark :)
On my calendar this month:
— Celebrating Holy Week and Easter with our church family (and filling Easter baskets)
— A cousin visit to the zoo (the perfect halfway point between Charlotte and us!)
— Rooftop yoga with Lisa
— Trying a Zumba class for the first time!!! (It’s entirely possible it will be me and a gaggle of 50-year-olds but I happen to love 50-year-olds so I’m totally fine with that.)
What I’m loving right now:
— Sometimes, I find reminders about children and the fleetingness of time more painful than helpful, but I enjoyed this low-key perspective.
— I have no idea what the situation with phones and kids will be when our kids are old enough for it to be an issue, but I completely disagree that a smart phone is necessary for a 15-, 13-, or 11-year-old. So does this gal, and I love it.
— We made this Shepherd’s Pie recipe by Alton Brown for St. Patrick’s Day. Put it on your menu for next year (or before that!).
What I read in April:
— Ogre Enchanted: Ella Enchanted was one of my very favorite books growing up, so I had to pick up this companion novel. It was enjoyable, though much more so in the second half once they introduced some characters from the original book!
Revisiting my March goals:
Cull and sort 2018, 2016, and 2015 iPhone photos (major progress – I finished 2015 and 2016!!)
Go on an inaugural family bike ride (postponing this until Shep is a bit older!)
Arrange for a vapor barrier to be installed (estimates have been made, now we just need to book a service)
Sell our old rug (listed for sale various places but no bites yet!)
Set a camping date for late summer/early fall (in progress)
Paint a few of our living room gallery wall frames (painted and then decided the color was too dark – and then bought a lighter shade)
Explore Squarespace for our new church site
Buy a preschool devotional Rearrange and organize the loft (major progress!!)
April goals:
— Cull and sort 2018, 2014, and 2013 iPhone photos
— Go on an evening walk every day it’s possible
— Repaint gallery wall frames
— Print a photo for our mantel frame
— Add a few more plants to our back bed
— Plant our vegetable garden
As a reminder, many of the goals above are drawn from my 2019 goals!
If you’ve spent any amount of time here, you know that I’m engaged in an epic quest to organize our personal photos (and have been for almost a year). Many of you have expressed curiosity at my methodology and the processes I’m putting in place, and I’m happy to oblige – once I have everything wrapped up with a bow!
In the meantime, though, I wanted to share one aspect we’ve got down pat, especially since I’m guessing it might be a pain point for some of you: Instagram photos! The photos I share on IG are some of my very favorites, so it makes sense that they’d be a priority to get off my phone and into our home.
Each January, I order 48 to 72 of our favorite Instagram photos from the past year in the 4-inch size via Social Print Studio. (You can purchase them in sets of 24 for $12). They’re printed on velvety-matte paper, and I’ve found the quality to be good. I especially appreciate that you can upload from multiple accounts in the same order as long as you have the passwords, which is great because I choose favorites from John’s account and both my personal and public accounts.
(If we need to round up to reach a number divisible by 12, I’ll add a few more copies of a print I know a family member or friend would love, then pop them in the mail once they arrive!)
From there, I choose our favorite 24 photos from the past year, with a prejudice toward landscape- and adventure-focused shots, and pin them to a bulletin board in our kitchen. I love being reminded of so many beloved places, faces, and memories on the daily, and guests love looking at them, too!
The ones from the previous year come down and, along with the remainder from the new set, go loose-leaf style into a box on our coffee table. (I add the year and any other pertinent info on the back.) The box isn’t organized in any way, which is good because the prints are literally taken out and rifled through every. single. day. June LOVES to discuss them, and they’re a great conversation starter with guests, too!
On this particular day, each stuffie was assigned a photo :)
One last thing I like about this system: it’s a natural way to make sure we’re refreshing at least some of our wall decor on at least an annual basis. It can feel like a monumental effort to get anything on our walls – the choosing! the hanging! – and once something is up, I’m inclined to just leave it. But it’s nice to spiff things up every once in a while, and this is an easy way to do it.
I’m curious: do you have a favorite way of printing your Instagram photos? I think it would be so fun to order one of SPS’s 365 calendars one day!
Anyone else working on Easter baskets? It feels odd to look ahead to Easter when we’re still at the beginning of Lent, but the alternative is… buying things the night before? Can’t do it :)
We chatted last year about Easter baskets – whether celebrating with them takes away from the religious significance of the day – and I loved reading your thoughts. For now, we’ve landed here: Jesus is the best gift we could ever be given. He is love. The day of his resurrection should be the best day of the year. These are hard concepts to illustrate to a three-year-old, but tangible excitement can help – so a basket, given with love from her parents to celebrate the happiest day, is where we’ve landed, along with lots of discussion leading up to the day! (We just added this book to our collection.)
A few budget tips:
1) Save crinkle paper from boxes that arrive throughout the year to line your baskets instead of buying it new.
2) Include items you’d be refreshing for the spring/summer season anyway – pajamas, a bathing suit, sandals, sidewalk chalk. Maximize the impact of money you’re already spending!
3) Though the ideas I’m linking here are all new, use them as inspiration to buy secondhand, if you can. I often pick up toys or clothing at a favorite church consignment sale, including the little wooden bus I included in June’s basket from last year, above.
4) Don’t be afraid to include toys they already own! I love to tuck in June’s two stuffed bunnies, and she thinks it’s so fun to see them hanging out in her basket! :)
5) Presentation is key. Take a minute to arrange things nicely, tie a big bow on top, choose things in their favorite color. It doesn’t take much money to delight a toddler.
Here are a few items that caught my eye in recent searches…
Most of the items are linked in the carousels below, but here are the ones that are not:
Bathing suits and beach fun (can you tell we almost always opt for rash guards?!):
Outdoor exploration:
Books:
Clothes and shoes:
Toys and games:
So what will we be including in our baskets? Here’s what I’m thinking so far:
June: A new bath towel (she’s still using the one we got her as an infant and it is a liiiiitle small), a rash guard, strawberry jams, 4 bath bombs (I got this pack of 12 last year and put 4 in her stocking, then saved the rest!), Saltwaters, her two stuffed bunnies, sidewalk chalk, and a devotional for preschoolers.
Shep:Saltwaters… aaaaand that’s it. I might roll up a hand-me-down bathing suit we have waiting in the wings and put in a stuffed animal just for fun, but obviously he will not know or care :)
I’d love to hear about any Easter traditions your family has! Pillsbury cinnamon rolls are in our plans for that morning, too :)
About 75% of the time on a night we’re at home, I’m on my laptop. This feels like a lame answer, but it is what it is – since I try to limit screens as much as possible when our kiddos are awake, the time after they go to bed is when I tackle both life necessities – answering emails, updating our budget, ordering more wipes, booking an appointment – and luxuriating in my favorite hobbies (reading blogs and writing my own posts, mostly! :)). I reserve the last half hour or hour once I’m in bed for reading.
John usually occupies himself by reading, watching a show, studying, and taking care of his own life necessities. Sometimes we’ll watch something together, or work on a project (travel planning, when we’re lucky!). But one of the best ways we’ve found to switch things up on a random weeknight is to play a game together.
I know so many of us are looking to break the habit of social media scrolling or mindless TV watching (or worse, both at once!) and connect more purposefully, so I thought I’d share a few of our favorites!
Our favorite two-person games:
Sagrada | Pictured above, this is a gorgeous game that can be played by up to 4 people but is the rare find that I think is actually better with 2! Monopoly Deal | Forget all your dreadful memories of Monopoly – this card game is quick (15 minutes!) and addictive! Seven Wonders Duel | Seven Wonders is one of our favorite games to play with a group, and this slim-downed version succeeds at bringing the fun to a party of two. Eight-Minute Empire | I like that this board is petite, so it’s possible to play in our armchairs, on the little table between them, instead of at our kitchen table. Plus, for some reason I beat John about 75% of the time :) Rock Me Archimedes | We actually don’t own this, but have given it to several family members and love playing it when we’re at one of those recipient’s houses!
Other great two-person games:
Boggle | You know I love me some Boggle, but rolling the dice is SUPER loud, so it’s not the best fit for this season of life where we’re often playing when kiddos are sleeping! Farkle | I’ve only played this in a larger group, but apparently you can play it with two people, too. Bonus: you just need six dice to play this game! Mancala | We don’t have our own board yet, but played this all the time growing up! I’m thinking June might be ready in a year or two. Scattergories | We play this often with 3+, but I suppose you could play it with two people, too. Set | This game is quick and keeps you on your toes – a different style of play than many of the others listed here.
Scrabble Double Solitaire Othello Quiddler Sequence Yahtzee Bananagrams
