Christmas is here!! It may not feel like it in LA but—it’s definitely here. Decorating for Christmas is one of my absolute favorite things to do. My goal every year is to make my home a place of warmth and joy from the moment you step foot at the door. I love decorating for every season but there’s just something extra special that comes with decorating for Christmas. Maybe it’s the fact that it comes with all the cozy feelings and things? Like watching a movie or better yet… enjoying all the decorations around us while playing a fun game, doing crafts, making something sweet and sipping on hot cocoa.
I wish I could invite you all over to our little humble abode for some hot cocoa or coffee while we enjoy the simple Christmas bliss.. but I suppose I’ll just have to settle for just sharing with you here as I sip on my cup of jo from this morning (which is now turning into a cold afternoon cup).
Mat: $12.99 (world market)
Buckets: $.99 (purchased at the 99c store)
pointsettias and wreath: $5.99 & $12.99 (Local Trader Joe’s)
Faux Christmas berries: $6.00 (purchased at Target)
Christmas Bow: $5.00 (purchased at Target)
I hope your Home feels just as cozy as ours and that you are soaking up all of the sweet traditions with your family. I know that we are!!
Merry Christmas!!!
Comment on PostOkay, so for years I’ve always been told that sourdough is SO hard to make and for that reason I never even bothered to even look into it. Boy was I missing out!! I told you that I would take tons of photos from my first loaf and share my new found obsession of being a sourdough bread baker. Without further adieu, Heres the scoop on what I like to call my Sourdough life..
A friend of mine inherited a sourdough starter and bought the Artisan Sourdough Made Simple book followed by making her first loaf. After she had made her first loaf she had nothing but crazy amazing things to say about her experience and walked me through the process. Just hearing her experience got me excited… So excited, that I wanted to have a sourdough life of my own. She gave me some of her starter and I immediately went home and purchased the same book on amazon and later realized that I don’t have anything to actually bake it in. After doing a bit of research and putting into consideration that I don’t want to spend $300 for a dutch oven, I settled for the next best thing. A clay bread baking dome by Sassafras.
After all of my glorious tools arrived I was ready to bake my heart out!
I don’t know about you but whenever I’m baking something new I’m always a nervous wreck in the kitchen. Is it going to rise? Is it going to taste like salt or what if its tasteless? All the scenarios flash through my head. This time around though I also had the added pressure of living up to Augusts Sourdough loving expectations so I definitely wanted it to turn out well! I mean… what wide wants to disappoint their husbands by bombing it making their favorite thing?! PS. Ive totally done that before haha!!!!
Pictured here: The 2nd step of mixing together your starter, Water, Salt & Bread flour- Mix it together till its all shaggy and then let it sit for 30 minutes.
One thing that I appreciate about this The “Artisan Sourdough made simple” recipe book is that there are ample photos for you to go off of. Even down to what the shaggy dough bowl is supposed to look like. If your anything like me and do much better following directions that include photos as apposed to JUST directions than this is the book for you! Since this was my first time making the bread I wasn’t sure what to expect in each step and thankfully this all of those photos made it less of a mystery although I wouldn’t say a complete mystery… you just never know until you you actually bite into it right?
Pictured here: The 3rd step- pulling the doughs corners and folding them into the center until it nice and tight and semi smooth. I obviously didn’t finish the process before jumping to a photo. lol after thats done, you let it rise with a damp towel over it for 8-10 hours.
THE RISE
Now… Ill admit, this was the HARDEST part for me! we stayed around the house all day, so I was just kind of in holding for 8-10 hours just asking myself constantly “I wonder if its rising?” “Maybe I should check under the towel to make sure its working.” For this very reason she mentions in the book to have it rise over night so that you aren’t tempted to keep creeping on your sourdough! Im not a very patient person so I happen to think that this sourdough making life is helping me learn to love the “Process” of things much more. Theres no speeding up the bread rising process unless you were to use a packet of yeast, in which case it changes things about the dough a bit.
After hours of self rising and my patience meter bursting, this dough was ready to be transferred onto the parchment paper and scored.
A side from eating it, this may be one of my favorite parts of the sourdough making process because it makes you bread look SO inviting. I tried to be all super professional with it obviously.. Here’s what my first scoring job looked like…
Its a beauty!! At this point I was so stoked to be putting this baby in the oven… I could hardly wait for it to be completely done!
In the oven it goes….
After the dough has been cooking for a solid 45 minutes it was ready to come out of the oven but not yet ready to eat. I know what you’re saying… Seriously?! When can you eat the dang thing? lol I was saying the same thing… Once it comes out of the oven you have to wait another hour for it to sit and cool. The fun part about this is hearing all of the crackling when the dough comes out. It kind of soothing sounding…
Pictured here is my finished product mid crackling:
Y’all… I am SO HAPPY to report that my sourdough came out FANTASTIC and got the approval from mr. sourdough himself. haha! My sourdough life has been nothing short of a fun, therapudic time. So if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to make your own sourdough bread.. I would say to you JUST DO IT! I can almost promise you that you will find joy in it and it might even teach you a few things in the process. (Thats another blog post for another day.) IF you decide to have a sourdough life of your own, feel free to share your experience, tips + tricks in the comments below!!
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So, this baby boy LOVES sweets apparently or maybe thats just me and my natural love for anything sweet? Its probably the latter but ill blame it on pregnancy for now because that leaves me room for some grace on the amount of sweets I’ve been craving. For some reason, in the last few days, I have been intensely craving Chocolate chip cookies. Im talking… Soft GF/V Chocolate Chip Cookies For The Pregnant Soul! I mean, I literally dreamt about it & woke up thinking about them kind of a status so maybe now having said that… Its most definitely a weird pregnant craving! Seeing as I’m definitely not vegan and for the most part gluten free but I don’t really bake gluten free goodies often, I was in for a little baking experiment. Thankfully I succeeded and my pregnant soul was singing!
I used this Chocolate chip cookie bite recipe and substituted out a few things:
Chocolate chip cookies – I used Enjoy Life Foods mini chips. So far this is is my favorite gluten free product. Everything that I have tried of theirs I’ve enjoyed (no pun intended). It never leaves me feeling like I just consumed something gluten free.
Butter – I used coconut oil
Brown Rice flour – I used Bob Mills White Rice Flour
Brown Sugar – I used Truvia Brown sugar
1 1/2 cups rice flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup (6 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1/2 cup chopped nuts
PREHEAT oven to 375° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease. Roll dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
BAKE for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove parchment paper with cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Store in airtight container.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I can’t believe we are already 2 weeks into the new year! This post is coming to you a little later than I had anticipated but it’s still super relevant and a fun, extremely easy, affordable DIY project that I call the “Blessing List”!
Have you ever found yourself at the end of the year saying “What DID happen this year?!”. I feel you… that literally happens to my husband and I every year & I’m determined to stop that cycle! Usually the first things that comes to mind are all of the things that were not as great and then following those thoughts are maybe a few great things that happened during the year but I can never remember all of them. Going into 2018, I wanted my family to record ALL of the blessings that will happen! From small victories like- Haven did a hand stand on her own to August booked a regular on a TV series.. Whatever the victory.. big or small, I want it to be in our faces on the daily so we can be constantly reminded of our forward movement this year, hence the reason for the Blessing List.
||Here is your quick DIY project for this month||
BLESSING LIST
Supplies you will need: Easel Roll ($5.99), Rope ($1.49), Command wall hangers($3.29) & of course a marker
Total: $10.77
Step 1: Cut rope into 3 even long strands. For my first one, I stranded it through the easel roll and figured out how long I wanted it then cut the rest according to that one strand.
Step 2: Pull the 3 strands of rope through he easel roll meeting the ends evenly at the top and make a knot right above the roll leaving you with about 8-10 inches of rope to braid.
Step 3: Braid the excess rope available and tie a knot at the end.
Step 4: loop the braid over meeting the first knot you made in the very beginning & use some loose strands (if you have anymore) to tie around that main knot.
Step 5: Place your Command Strip wherever your Blessing List will be
Step 6: Hang your easel roll and roll it out
Step 7: Write Away!!!!
Super easy and cheap, right?! We can’t wait to fill this up. Who knows, maybe by the end of the year we will have gone through the whole easel role. 🙂 I hope that you find the time to add a Blessing list to your home!
Enjoy!! <3 Ashleigh
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Who doesn’t like executing an idea that you have in your mind on a small budget, especially if its going to help the functionality of your home. Thats why I decided to do a “How to create a command center on a budget”! Whenever I am decorating/designing/crafting, etc. I always try to stay within some type of a budget. Why? Because I feel that a lot of times its not worth spending an arm & a leg on something that I can either do myself or find at another store at a cheaper price. You just have to broaden your horizons a bit. Does that mean more work? Not always.. Take for example, this command center. I had every intention to make my own calendar board, pin board and chalkboard but at the end of the day I actually found a better deal!
Lets tackle what a command center even is..In my words: A command center is a centralized place in your home where every family member can see any order of business pertaining to your home life. Theres really no one way to execute it. You put up on the command center wall whatever best suites your family and your needs. For me, the calendar was the main thing. Our schedules are always so crazy (especially my husbands) so its helpful for me to see a visual of just the important things that are happening that week and the weeks to come. We are also starting Haven on a homeschool preschool program called The Peaceful Preschool , so I wanted to create a great space for her to be excited about learning, displaying her hard work and a place to store whats coming up the next day. We are all visual learners in this house so the more we can see and do the better we are.
Here’s how to create a command center on a budget:
Thats it!! Its so simple and honestly it was really fun. Took me about a week to accomplish and get it all set up + now its rockin’ & rollin’. Havens favorite place in the house to create is at this desk and I love that.
If you decide on doing your own ‘Command Center’, send us some photos! We would love to see it.
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To sum up this chapter in one short sentence I’d say: Show up for yourself! I’m going to go ahead and tie this chapter right on in to my new stats for my nutrition challenge with insideoutfit_nutrition because getting healthier and reaching your goals requires you to show up for yourself in a big way!
I wish that I could say that Ive kept every commitment I’ve ever made to myself… but the truth is that I haven’t! There have been more times than I’m willing to admit that I have told myself that I’m going to do something and then a week or 2 later I crumble and that “thing” gets pushed aside. Rachel nailed the title for this chapter “I’ll do it tomorrow..” because i can recall plenty of moments when i have used those exact words pushing aside the things i promised myself that i would do! One thing leads to another and “I’ll do it tomorrow” turns into basically never doing it OR half-assing it.
I connect this to health and weight loss because how many of us can relate to the start Getting healthier and reaching for your goals rhand stop health journey?! How many of us can relate to having a sugar addiction, saying we are going to cut out sugar only to then give in to sugar the first week or 2 so then we decide to just fizzle out that promise to ourselves completely?! I’ve done it my friends… I’ve done it so many times! The reality is that I’m only breaking promises to myself. In this chapter, Rachel talks about when you make a new goal your mind will automatically reach for your highest training. So if I’ve only made it without sugar for 3 days than i know that I can at least do 3 days without. But how about exceeding that? I think it’s definitely mind over matter but I also believe that it has a lot to do with self love. If a loved one was trying to reach a new goal I would check up on them, be with them if they needed company and never cancel or be late because I would see it as very important. While I was reading this chapter though I was like, why don’t I do that for myself? I’m just as important as my loved one! In fact.. I’m even. Ore important because what use am i to them if i don’t take care of myself?! Literally, mid read I was like “gosh dang it Ashleigh, Show up for yourself!
So here is how I’m showing up for myself in this fitness challenge with insideoutfit_nutrition.
1) I’m going to start working out at LEAST 2-3 times a week. No matter the time, if I’m said I have plans to workout and it’s written in my agenda. I Will Work Out!!!
2) upping my water intake! I will complete a whole cup of water before eating anything in the morning. I’m just going to start there because that is a huge accomplishment for me. So when I make my new goal my mind will automatically reach for its highest training and I’ll know that I can exceed that!
How are you showing up for yourself today?! Have you joined us on the fitness journey yet!? If not, head over to ,u friend Brianna’s insta page @insideoutfit_nutrition and get started TODAY!
Here are my current stats:
Waist- 35 1/4
RT/LT Thigh- 23.5
Arms- 11
It’s a new season for me! I am all done birthing babies and now all of my focus is going to be on raising those beautiful babies of mine, becoming an even better wife & mother and learning how to grow a business.
I have teamed up with a friend of mine over at Inside Out Fit to create a meal plan and hold me accountable to returning back to my post partum body and beyond because like I said, new season – new me!
One of the hardest parts for me after having a baby is food. What I should be consuming and how much, etc.when I’m in the trying to figure out your groove with a new baby phase, the initial tendency is to just fall off the bandwagon and let food be my last thought when in fact, it should most definitely be one of my first. This is where Bri over at Inside Out Fit comes in. The girl is a beast! I mean that in the most feminine way… She is a single mama of 2, works a job & in all of her spare time, works on her passion job which is helping people walk in a healthier lifestyle by creating meal plans. She is amazing!
Sharing my physical progress isn’t easy for me. Ive always been a bit on the hush hush about my weight and even wearing certain things makes me self contious. With that being said, I feel like we should be super proud of our bodies and not ashamed! Especially after we have birthed children! So I am sharing this journey with all of you because I want you to know that I am in that struggle bus with you!! I laugh because the last time I started my health journey back to my normal pre pregnancy self it was also right around the holidays. My husband and I sure do know how to make those summer babies! If ya need any tips, obviously we’ve got them for you. Haha.
Here are my current stats as of 8/1/2018:
Weight: 150.8
Waist: 36 1/2
Thighs: 23 1/2
Chest: 34 1/2 (This is forever fluctuating thought because of milk production)
Current status of physical activity: I am going to start with doing a bit of yoga but ease my way back into things. At this point I’m more focused on getting my diet in check.
So who is in this with me?!
Comment on PostI have been on a hunt trying to figure out all the realistic ways that can help me reduce stress and I think that I’ve come up with my top 3 that I’ve found helpful thus far. Seeing that I am now in my 3rd trimester and things can be a bit more stressful to manage just because of all the extra weight I’m carrying and tack on the heat to that. Lord Jesus help me… this is one of the top things I’m trying to focus on.
Here are my 3 Ways To Reduce Stress:
I know that everyone has their own ways of relieving stress OR maybe you’re still on that journey of still trying to figure it out like I am. I’d love for you to share in the comments your strategies and/or areas of your life that could use A bit of tweaking! Let’s be a community of people who build one another up and strive to live a whole lot more stress free!!
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Happy Workout Wednesday! I thought I would share some workouts that I’ve been loving from other bloggers since being pregnant. Today I’m going to share one of my favorite mommy fitness bloggers @Nourishmovelove that I love to follow who has a 20 min. pregnancy cardio barre workout. There are a few things that I love about this. One being, its quick! The other being that its effective. Give me a quick effective workout any day of the week and I will love you forever! This girl is most certainly not a fan of working out for hours on end. Anyone else with me?! Lindsey, over at Nourish Move Love is doing her thing and if you haven’t heard of her yet, You will thank me later for introducing you to her amazing content. 🙂
I hope that you guys enjoy this Pregnancy Cardio Barre workout as much as I did this morning!
Ps. I used 5lb dumbells for this cardio barre workout
I am SO excited (Well aren’t I always excited? haha) to introduce someone who has been a fitness inspiration to me personally for years AND she happens to be a friend of mine! Introducing….. JOANNA RABON. First, Joanna performed professionally with Pacific Northwest Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theater, Nevada Ballet Theater, and Cirque du Soleil. She began aerial arts while dancing on cruise ships with Royal Caribbean International and has been training specifically for aerial since. She is very passionate about bringing high-level qualities of a trained dancer into the world of circus; in movement, lines and musicality. Joanna currently performs and travels as both a freelance dancer and aerialist, and works as a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and dance instructor all over the south Denver area.
You guys, Joanna is INCREDIBLE and super sweet! I can almost guarantee you that you will not only get great workouts in the next few weeks but you’ll also be inspired by her. Her love of dance, movement & really just all things in the area of fitness always spark something in me to want to press in more which is one of the reasons why I wanted Joanna to be a part of the Sparrows Apple Community! I know that you’ll enjoy these and am excited to hear all of your feedback every week. If you live in the Denver area, you should definitely hit her up for some personal training or head to one of her Barre classes. I know I would be be if I lived in that area! 🙂 You can contact Joanna directly here.
Today Joanna has provided for us a follow-along workout for lean, strong, and slim legs! Do this anywhere, no equipment needed, and get a great workout in under 30 minutes.
ENJOY!!!!
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I used to think focusing on my health and fitness was a selfish and vain thing, but I now realize it is one of the most selfless things you can do. Don’t get me wrong, I think an unhealthy obsession is possible like it is with anything in life. That was me in my high school and college years – I strived to LOOK skinny and that was it. I didn’t really care about if my body was actually healthy or not.
When I became pregnant, suddenly life became so much more than how I looked or even how I felt. My life was no longer just my own. This little baby in my belly was depending on me and I wanted to be there for her. That is what drove me into researching nutrition and fitness. I realize that we can’t control everything in life, but I decided I wanted to do everything I COULD do to live a long, healthy and thriving life.
As a mom or any busy person, it can be really challenging to find that time to exercise, that time to meal prep, etc. Sometimes it’s way easier to go through the Chic-fil-A drive thru– and hey, sometimes that is exactly what needs to happen! I am still not perfect – I don’t always get to my workout, I don’t always eat perfectly clean, but I focus on making small changes, realizing they will build up into a big lifestyle change.
What might that look like for you? Maybe it’s turning on a 15 minute HIIT workout on Youtube. Maybe it’s joining friends for a weekly Yoga class. Maybe it’s saving those Chic-fil-A drive thru’s for the weekends and choosing to eat more vegetables than you did before. Whatever it is for you, my encouragement is to not strive for perfection, but for progress. When it is getting challenging or you feel like you’ve failed because you ate chocolate cake for breakfast, choose to remember WHY health is important to you. Look at the little faces looking up to you and remind yourself that taking time for your health is important, not only for you but also for those who love and need you.
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I needed something super quick and effective today while Emberleigh was napping (But really… I need that everyday lol) So I chose a quick kettle bell workout. The kettlebell is something I don’t use often but every time I do I’m always reminded of how great it is!
Here’s your workout for this Wednesday.
Kettlebell in 10 min.
12 Kettlebell Swings
10 Squat to a row
20 Split Lunges
10 RDL
20 Russian Twists
20 Rows (10/arm)
Repeat 2-3 times
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When it comes to postpartum anything there are so many different topics that we can talk about! Today though, I just want to strike up a conversation about the number 1 thing that most women (if not all women) struggle with once that gorgeous baby is out of our belly. What is that you ask?! BODY IMAGE! That postpartum body after baby! That’s right ladies, Lets go ahead and talk about that huge mountain, face it, climb it and walk to the other side of it. I’m not gonna lie.. This was a BEAST for me to get over and if I’m being completely honest with myself, I still haven’t made it to the other side of that mountain but I’m getting there!
When I was pregnant with Haven the whole pregnancy was a dream. For the most part it was easy & I felt beautiful. I had only gained 20 lbs and was feeling like a million $$. Then the labor/delivery came and I struggled HARD. I didn’t really retain much water during my pregnancy but afterwards it was awful. Mainly because I had a very long labor (Story for another day) and they had me on an IV drip for days, then I had a C-section and was bound to my bed most of the time. You guys… by the time i got out of the hospital, no joke, my butt was a for real pancake and everything about my legs took form into the whatever I was sitting on at the time. I all the sudden didn’t recognize my feet, fingers, arms… My legs didn’t fit in anything that I owned so I had to make a target run on the way home and buy a pair of pajama pants that I literally wore everyday. I just remember going to the bathroom and looking at myself naked bawling my eyes out because I had never seen my body like this before! The bloat was out of control, I was in pain, I could already see the loose skin, stretch marks around my belly button, etc. The list goes on. Basically to sum this up, I was extremely self conscious about my body even with my husband and friends constantly reminding me that I just had a baby.
At the time, August was working 2 jobs and only had a few days off so I had no other choice than to jump right back in to life as the new normal almost immediately after coming home from the hospital resulting in a very long recovery. I literally didn’t feel even partially ready to jump back in to working out or doing anything active until around 6 months and even then it was like learning my body all over again. Even though no one really knew, I was super discouraged & maybe even slightly depressed. My post part body after baby was NOT the business. (I know this sounds kind of negative so far but I promise you it gets better. Sometimes talking about the real things doesn’t always sound victorious…) At some point I caught some type of stride and started loosing the baby weight. My goal was to be back at a decent weight lbs wise before we started trying again. It took me a while but eventually I got there!
2 Weeks Postpartum with Haven
Now lets talk about baby #2- As soon as I found out we were expecting I set it in my heart that this time I was going to embrace every part of my body changes, ask for help, and have fun watching what my body can do because our bodies are AMAZING and can truly do some incredible things. Thankfully, the delivery the second time around was much more pleasant, the recovery was much easier, and August had an amazing amount of paternity leave..It was great! I gained just about the same amount the second time around as I did the first, so there wasn’t much difference there. A few months postpartum I sought out help from my girl, Brianna, who helped me out TREMENDOUSLY. She created a meal plan for me that would help me not only loose baby weight but it also helped me maintain if not also increase my milk supply, which was my concern and struggle after I had Haven. I was so much more confident this time around. 1 year later and I’m not exactly where I want to be but I’m headed there and giving myself tons of grace throughout my process!
What a difference right?! I feel like the hardest thing to conquer in postpartum after baby is your mentality. It’s hard to remind yourself that you were just carrying & nurturing a growing child for 9 months. Why do we expect our bodies to just adjust back to normal almost immediately after birth? It’s also hard when you see some people walk out of the hospital looking like they legit never just popped out a child! LOL! Then again, it’s all in our mentality! We are all DIFFERENT!! Our bodies don’t react the same way. Heck…our bodies don’t even react the same sometimes to each pregnancy.
SO.. Here is my T.O.D {Tip Of the Day}- Give yourself GRACE, GRACE and more GRACE in your postpartum journey! When you look at that mountain, visualize the victory on the other side of it no matter how long it takes you. No one is putting a time constraint on when you need to be “in shape” except for you! I’ts great to have goals, in fact I highly encourage you to have goals, but not if they are unrealistic and they are at the expense of happiness or self worth. 🙂
PS. As always- please feel free to leave comments, encouraging words and/or your postpartum journey below! I’d love to hear from y’all!!
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Okay, Let’s talk diaper bags, shall we! If you’re anything like me than you want a diaper bag that can serve multiple purposes and doesn’t scream “oh, hey! I’m a DIAPER BAG!!” I love a diaper bag that can go with most of my closet seeing as I am the one who is going to be sporting it most of the time and for a good while it’ll replace my purse. I also feel like there is nothing wrong with having multiple diaper bags! Maybe one that is a bit more on the girly, classier end and then one that has a bit more of a masculine flare to it for August. After I had Emberleigh my best friend gave me an adorable Kate Spade diaper bag which I loved but quickly realized that when August was on daddy duty he didn’t really want to have to carry around a black and white polka dotted bag forcing me to look for something a but more neutral to accommodate moments like that. This time around I knew exactly what I wanted so I am going to share with you 2 of my favorites that I have for baby boy that I feel like are the perfect diaper bags for all occasions and for both you and your spouse! We cant leave the men out can we?!
I recently received the Citi Navigator from Citi Babies and I LOVE it! Its super light weight, has multiple compartments for not just your babies things but also has a very much padded area that could fit a laptop or an IPad. I was especially excited about the design as was my husband. This backpack is so perfect for him to wear when he is out with the babe without cramping his style! It has a really nice masculine touch to it and looks super contemporary. Right up August’s alley!! The Citi Navigator from citi babies is obviously perfect for your man but is also great to use when you’re traveling, taking your babes to the zoo, hiking, etc. Anything that gets you a bit more dressed down, this diaper bag pairs well with! So basically, your day to day grind. We have ours in the heather brown color and its beautiful. Super understated and perfect for any outfit! I also want to point out that this diaper bag WILL NOT break the bank!!! Can I get an AMEN!!!! We are actually going to start out using this backpack, I have packed all of the babies essentials for the hospital which I will share in another blog post but it can definitely hold quite a few things in it and the bag itself is light so you don’t have to worry about the weight after everything is packed.
So if you’re in the market for an affordable, sturdy, good looking diaper backpack pack than head on over to www.citibabies.com to preorder yours today! Just be aware.. Your husband may or may not be claiming this backpack as his own once the baby phase is over.
The second one I bought and it was my very first purchase for the baby (cough cough… for me!) the Freshly picked diaper back pack in ebony black. Y’all now that I had to have this!! It’s so classic and certainly does not look like its a diaper bag! This thing is made SO WELL you guys and its just the right size. You can also change it to become a big purse which is nice. We will get tons of use out of this beauty! However, I will say that this diaper bag, unlike the Citi Navigator, is definitely more on the pricey end.
There you have it! My 2 Diaper bags of choice to use for baby boy and I am pretty excited to use them.
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Emberleigh Grace is officially O N E!! It seems like yesterday that we were just at the hospital preparing for her arrival and holding her little 7 lb self. Now she has 6 teeth, crawls and gets into everything, dances to any and every beat she hears, smiles and laughs at everything but her sister being all up in her business and brings joy to every room she goes in. She is such a delight in our little family and might be one of the easiest babies I’ve ever seen!
It’s crazy how even a year of firsts still pertains to the second child for the parents! There have been so many things that Emberleigh does that Haven never did so it feels like we are treading new territory all over again. As much as its been a year of firsts for Ember its been a year of firsts for August + I too. No one can prepare you for having a second child.. No one can ever prepare you enough for any child never mind just a second {haha}. I’m a strong believer of “learn as you go”. As a single woman or even married with no kids I had this idea of what motherhood would be like, how I would discipline my children, how they would be so perfect in public (Let’s all laugh out loud together). Tell me I’m not the only one who thought those things in your life BK “before kids”?! Admit it… We have all thought some crazy unrealistic thought. Even though I have stayed true to some of those things like: Discipline, which is a huge topic for me because of how much it effects you as an adult. That’s a topic for another day! 🙂 I think we can all agree that motherhood changes you in so many ways! Your thoughts, perspectives, motives… EVERYTHING! You can just throw away that BK mindset because as soon as you meet your baby #1 and get to know their personality all of your ideas may or may not work on that little one and you know what… That is OKAY!!! Then once you feel like you’ve gotten the hang of having 1 and you want to have another you yet again face the “Year Of Firsts” all over again! It’s such a wild, crazy but amazing journey becoming parents isn’t it?
So here is my T.O.D “Tip Of the Day”- Throw away those unrealistic expectations of parenthood that either yourself or other people put on you, but hold on to the ones that stay true to your beliefs. Embrace the “Year Of Firsts” with each child and nurture each personality like there is no one else on the earth like it (because there isn’t!). Let the year of firsts not only grow your child but let it also change YOU, GROW you, CHALLENGE you because it will & in the end you get to celebrate one whole year of change. One whole year of climbing up a mountain with 2 babies not knowing what you were going to face and you made it. One whole year of experiencing another tiny human adapt and grow to the world around them!
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I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
Comment on PostYou know those days when there seems to be more demand and your energy just doesn’t seem to match?! That was me yesterday! At the end of the night though, when all the kids were down for the count, I was looking back at the photos I had snapped of the day— as exhausted as I was I thought to myself.. “They had SO much fun today!!”. We spent hours playing, got a nap in (well 2 of them did anyways) they had a bit of screen time, played again and then went to bed. Such a great day! Enjoy our daily moments.
1) It all started with the excitement for a morning waffle! (FYI- we tried a new brand of waffles made with Cassava flour by a brand called Kitchfix. They were surpringly really good! Kind of like a smaller Belgian waffle consistency)
2) A little bit of play time for AJ in his new play center by Oribel
3) Heading out the door with a bag of snacks for the car ofcourse.
The question is… are they fighting here or are they playing?! you decide, I wont spoil it with the truth! Lol
4) A little joy ride while the other 2 take a nap. 
5) The face of a little girl who is V excited to play at her favorite play spot, The green Chataeu 
6) We spent a few hours at this sweet spot and they were enjoying every moment. 
Even AJ was lovin’ it! 
Then theres Emberleigh and her love for the slides
7) After a few hours of playing— Let’s be honest, mama was tired. soooo I busted out the pads at home. I needed some down time!
8) Ended the day kissing on this guy before his nap time and our night routine.
We are trying to get in the habit of starting our day with the girls getting dressed right after breakfast. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. One things for sure is that Emberleigh will always be up for getting dressed and often is the one who initiates it, picks out what she wants to wear and if you know anything about this little girl, you know that she must put on everything HERSELF! It pains us sometimes to watch her all frustrated because she cant get something on but still doesn’t want help or when shes putting something on wrong but doesn’t want the correction. She is by far our most independent, stubborn but oh so sweet child! So here is a sweet little glimpse into our day.
It literally takes her 5 minutes to put on her socks but boy is she so proud of herself when she finally gets them both on! So proud in fact, she decided to do a little dance and a few “Model Poses” for me.
I forgot to mention that the pink Hunter boots must go with EVERY outfit, rain or shine!
This one would live in her PJ’s or princess dress’ all day if you let her. That huge mountain at the foot of Embers bed is in fact.. all princess dress’s! Yep, your eyes are not failing you… We need a rack, desperately.
This is the attempt to do a bit of homeschool and cleaning at the same time. We dont have a kitchen table so we do homeschool work anywhere on the floor in the house right now.
Then ofcourse we play some odd game of the spider catches the fairies. That is until someone gets injured by the wooden wand that Havens holding.
Nap break for this guy. I have a really hard time getting him to go down on his own in his crib because of the girls so most of the time we have to wear him in order for his naps to happen. Thank GOD for carriers like Sakura Bloom.
My dinner making buddy giving me all the flirtatious looks with those dreamy eyes of his.
The progression to bed time is always a bit interesting..
The princess giving us a demonstration on how she will hold AJ.
Time for some bedtime stories! Each of the girls got to choose a book for daddy to read.
One of my favorite shots of the whole day right there. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed our daily moments this week! Stay tuned for more.
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I get asked a lot what its like since becoming a mom of 3— usually my response is “It’s beautifully crazy and oddly enough its easier than I had imagined it would be but also really exhausting”. If that sounds like a whirlwind and a mouthful, that’s because it is. I just try to fit all the things into one sentence and call it quits because who has time to go into detail about all the transitions one is faced with when adding another child to the mix?! The truth is, I have 2 amazing little girls who happen to really love their brother so much and fight more over who gets to hold him or help him. Thank GOD!! I would much rather have this problem than a jealousy issue. I recognize that for some, this may not be your story.. You may have a jealousy issue happening in your home and if that’s the case, I am cheering you on my friend!! You are my hero.
I’m going to be really honest here and tell you that for me, the HARDEST thing since becoming a mom of 3 babies is A) Not looking like a total disaster from the moment you get up and B) getting out of the house!! It’s the getting everyone dressed, grab all the snacks, diapers, change of clothes, etc. I’m honestly lucky if I get out of the house by noon, without the help of my husband ofcourse. So then because you’ve been running with your head cut off all morning, your teeth aren’t brushed, hair isn’t done— all the sudden its noon and you still look like you just woke up. Meanwhile, everyone else looks awesome!
Here’s the first step to overcoming the newly mom of 3, morning disaster, who just wants to look cute but be cozy.. BUY A NEW PAJAMA SET!!! I swear it changes everything. I recently just got this heather grey pajama set from PinkBlush and they have changed my life. They are currently out of stock but they have plenty of other amazing PJ options here.I now run around my house knowing that at least what I’m wearing is cute and cozy so if all else fails… maybe ill just throw on a solid top, a cute jacket and a hat & head on out the door! You may be laughing.. but.. I actually did do that and I got a compliment on my “Jogger pants”. If that’s not a mom win than I dont know what else is! So that’s step 1. Buy new pajamas PS. These ones in particular work really well for maternity too and feel like I’m wearing a cozy blanket!
Step 2.. well, I’m still figuring this one out on days when August is working mornings. It definitely helps to have things prepped the night before if I know that we have a busy day the next day but I would also be lying if I didn’t say that most of the time I’m just ready to go to bed by the time my kids have finally fallen asleep. Plus, AJ (The newest of the Coryell crew) is just now starting to settle into a groove 3 months in so I think that will help out a lot more with the flow of how everything goes in the morning. Regardless of systems though.. I feel like if you are riding solo and trying to get anywhere out of the house with 3 babies 4 and under— its a challenge, but a challenge we were obviously willing to take on nonetheless.
If you are anything like me— than those morning that you are running around with your head cut off like a chicken, you will try to take a pause.. look at all the mess and noise around you and just take it all in because your have a house full of life. If all else fails.. Guess what?! At least you’ll have some really cute PinkBlush pajamas on that can totally pass as joggers, right?!
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush but all thoughts are my own! 🙂
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I am so excited to dive in to “Girl, Wash Your Face“ with you! For every chapter that we read I’m going to open up about some personal things that had crossed my mind while reading it. Feel free to share your thoughts about the chapter in the comments below and we can laugh, maybe even cry together as we get one page closer to realizing just how amazing we truly are and becoming the best version of us that we can be! Are you ready for this, because I am!!
The Lie..
This chapter hit so many deep places in me.. growing up I was QUEEN comparison. When I think back on it now and compare (no pun intended) myself to who I am today, its mind blowing. Im such a different person in all the best ways. Just to give you an idea of how much of a queen I was — I would compare myself to my sister: Why is she thinner than I am, Why am I taller than her.. I would compare myself to my friends, TV actors.. Heck I would even compare myself to MY MOM!!! Basically, I was a train wreck who tried to pretend like I had it all together when I was outside of my home because that’s what I thought we had to do and typically I would choose to compare myself to someone on their best day. It never even crossed my mind that they could maybe have an off day or that they weren’t perfect.
Here’s a story for you.. when I was younger I was friends with this girl in youth group (Where all the emotions fly sky high) who I thought was perrrrrrfect! She was cute, all the guys thought she was hot and to top it off I literally NEVER saw her upset. You guys.. every time I was around her I was always super annoyed. Not because I didn’t like her but because she was just.. happy— all the time, I had the hardest time wrapping my head around that! When I got older I realized that the reason why I was so upset every time I would see her was because I felt the exact opposite. I wasn’t truly happy. In fact, half of the time I was pretending to be someone who I wasn’t which is a BIG reason why I wasn’t happy. I was playing a person who I thought people wanted to see and be around. How did that work out for me you ask? Well.. it worked out until it didn’t, haha! It wasn’t until I went into ministry school after graduating high school that I really embraced the saying “You are the only person who can control your thoughts, feelings and actions.” Boy was that season of my life HARD! Let me tell you.. diving in deep into all the hard things in your life isn’t fun, but boy is it so necessary!
Comparison is one of my biggest struggles even to this day— but one thing that I feel like I have owned is the fact that no matter where I am, no matter what I’m doing, I am in charge of my own happiness! I love how Rachel says “Moving doesn’t change who you are. it only changes the view outside your window. You must CHOOSE to be happy, grateful, and fulfilled. If you make that choice every single day, regardless of where you are or what’s happening, you will be happy.”
Here’s how I take a step off the comparison bus anytime I find myself stepping back in it:
1) Sharing with friends or family
When I share with my husband or some friends areas that I’m struggling in, they will always first remind me of who I am! Hearing from an outside perspective of someone who loves you how they see you is encouraging! It’s a reminder that I’m not a failure or any less than.
2) I get face to face with my reason behind WHY I’m comparing myself.
Its not enough to just step off the comparison bus because you feel better in that moment. I want to know all of the reasons why my first reaction towards something is ‘comparison’. When I can fully understand that about myself than I dont need #1 nearly as much because I can recognize it and step off of that bus before I have even found myself all the way in it.
What is that “Lie” in your life that you have been believing? How do you deal with the comparison bus?!
I hope that you are enjoying this book just as much as I am!! Its only the first chapter y’all and its already SO good — mainly because I love talking about the nitty gritty of life.
Xoxo-
Comment on PostIn the past month and a half – I have used a few items from brands that I’ve collaborated with that have made my transition to a 3rd baby so much easier. They are so awesome that I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t create a “Mommy Must Have” list. Some of these items I’m not even sure how I survived without with my other 2. Y’all know that I keep it real around here so I’m going to just put it out there now that although these are collaborations – I’ve personally reached out to all of these brands and 100% believe in them and use them!! Are you ready for my mommy must have list!?
NESTING DAYS CARRIER
In the past I have had: The ergo baby, lile’ baby & the moby wrap and non of them have compared to this carrier for the newborn phase. I SWEAR by the nesting days carrier. If you follow me on social media (which I hope you do!) than you know how obsessed I am with this carrier. I probably talk about it on the weekly. AJ is always so cozy in there and almost always falls in to a deep sleep while I’m wearing him. I love it because its worn like a shirt (it is a shirt, haha) so therefore you never have to take it off. You can do skin to skin without revealing yourself, there isn’t yards and yards of fabric to have to figure out how to wrap yourself before even putting the baby in. This carrier is life!! To give them even more points, they offer a men’s carrier as well that is equally just as amazing as the women’s. As if all of that weren’t already so awesome, one of my absolute favorite things about this company is the family that runs it. Julie, The owner & creator is quite possibly one of the sweetest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of speaking and working with. They are passionate about their product (as they should be) and truly believe in their product! If I could choose only one thing for a mom to splurge on I might put this one on the top of the list because of how much it has made the transition to a 3rd child that much easier!
MUMBELLI BED
The Mumbelli is one of the softest beds I’ve ever felt. Literally when I received it I immediately wanted one for myself. Plus, who doesn’t want to feel all super nestled in?! Okay, maybe as an adult you might not want that but for a newborn… YES! They hands down want that because that’s all they have ever known. It’s great because its adjustable in length so it can grow with your baby and it has a little pillow that you can tuck underneath the bottom of the pad so that they can lay in a bit of an incline. The bed is super light, comes with a bag and travels amazingly.
CITI BABIES DIAPER BAG
Okay… I’m not sure there is a better unisex diaper bag out there! When this arrived to our door my husband, August, literally said “this is mine when we are done with the diaper bag phase”. Even when he is wearing it out with the babe people think its his backpack and not a diaper bag. Now that is the type of bag that I feel every couple should have! Ladies… don’t let your man sport a bag that looks all fru fru! Find something that is gender neutral and something that your significant other feels confident wearing. This is another one of those companies that I love not only because of the product but because of the people behind the product. Citi babies is owned my Maria, who is a WORKING mama doing this as her passion side hustle! WHAT?! So amazing!!! Seriously, its such an incredible bag. If you’d like to read my full review and thoughts you can head to my blog post here!
ECOPIGGY PACIFIER
My other 2 babies weren’t really big on pacifiers but something told me that this little boy would be. With that being said – I wanted to have a pacifier that was eco friendly and looked no further than to the ecopiggy ecopacifier. It was the first pacifier that we used in the hospital and he latched onto it so well! The ecopacifier is plastic free, bra free and is made out of natural rubber. Another benefit to this pacifier is that it actually stays in his mouth. Imagine that! If you’re in the market for a great paci – than check out Ecopiggy for sure.
MILKMAID GOODS
Okay, have you seen the cute prints that Milkmaid goods comes up with?! These swaddles are so soft and adorable – every baby has to have one! Plus they sell them as sets AND you can even purchase a matching robe! HI.. count me in on all the comfy, cozy cute things for my son. Need I say anything more…?
There are a million great products out there for newborns, I just wanted to share the few that I have fallen in love with and use almost religiously. Feel free to share products you’ve used that have made your life a bit easier.
-xoxo-
Comment on PostThis is the number one topic of discussion when anyone finds out that they are expecting, right? If you’re anything like my husband and I than this was a huge topic of discussion way before you were even expecting. It has always been super important to us that our kids’ names embody who we feel like they are as a person. Some people have asked us what our process was so I thought I would share the way that we named our kids. However, I should add that for every family it may be different! There is no ABC guide to “How to name your baby”.
As a parent, I feel that this is one of the biggest responsibilities we have been given… To name a human being! A name that they will carry for the rest of their lives, a name that they will more than likely morphe into. Isn’t that crazy!?! We get the privilege of giving THAT name. No pressure, right?! So how do you name your baby? Like I said, there isn’t really a how to guide.. but maybe some of the ways we named our babies will help you in your process of finding a name.
Each child was different for us but I will say that naming our son was THE hardest! First off, Before my husbands dad past away he had shared with August his thoughts on how many kids we were going to have and what their personalities were going to be like. He thought that we were going to have 2 boys and possibly 1 girl. Though he had the genders mixed around, he most certainly got their characteristics spot on! Everything that he thought the first 2 “boys” were going to be like, the girls absolutely have those personalities. The only thing he was unsure about what the 3rd child. I think that because we had some type of incling as to what our first 2 kids were going to be like it made it a bit easier to name the girls. Their names felt like them from day 1! Then came AJ and we were at a loss!
August, naturally wanted to name his son after him but my entire pregnancy when I would refer to him in my mind as an “August” it didn’t feel like his identity. Especially because with the name August came all of my husbands nicknames that he went by as well and as cute as they all are it still felt like my husbands identity, not my sons. Meanwhile, I was just trying to fish for anything that I was feeling while pregnant with him. I tried to be super in tune with certain emotions I would feel.. I came to the conclusion that I was WAY more emotional with this pregnancy! This pregnancy healed some areas in me that made me shut down emotionally, likely stemming from Haven’s birth. This pregnancy was chill and brought me a sense of calm. I wasn’t stressing out about much like I was with the others. All of those things, I believe, have something to do with the characteristics of your baby! So with that being said, I like to make sure that my child’s name reflects those characteristics.
Long story short, With a lot of conversations, we landed on August Kellen James Coryell.
August means- majestic, prosperous
Kellen- Powerful in battle
James- Doesn’t have a crazy meaning but its my maiden last name and I wanted to pay some homage to my dad seeing as we don’t have any brothers to carry on the name. 🙂
All of these meanings sum up all of the things I was feeling while being pregnant with him. We settled on calling him AJ because its a nickname that is his own. It felt like his name and something that he could go by for the rest of his life if he wanted to or, if at some point, he wants to go by August then we will call him that.
Honestly, No one can really give you a step by step guide as to “How to Name Your Baby”. People can only share with you their process in how they named their child! So I would say to the soon to be mom who is having trouble finding a name, start by paying extra attention to your emotions during this pregnancy that make you different from how you normally are and/or how you’ve been during other pregnancies. You never know, You might connect a name to all of those swirly hormonal emotions that you have and it just might feel like that is the perfect name for your child.
Happy naming your world changer babies!!
Comment on PostI recently got this fun dark blue Swing dress from Pink Blush and thought I’d share a few different ways that you could dress up or dress down a piece that seems super basic. The best part is that you don’t really need much to change up an outfit, so if you’re one of those who just has no clue what to do when it comes to making 1 dress work for 2-3 occasions than this blog post will be perfect for you!
3 WAYS TO WEAR A SWING DRESS
Who knew that you could get so many outfits out of one piece right?! Here’s the kicker… This Pinkblush dress isn’t even maternity so I can totally rock this after this baby boy is born! You all know I am always about that!!
If you’re looking for a great swing dress with pockets, head to pink blush and check this piece out. I promise you, it’ll be a great addition to your summer closet!
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Hello, everyone! My name is Tiara Wolfe. I’m a stay at home mommy to two crazy little people who run my life. I’m also married to the dreamiest hunk of man ever. We live in a small, tourist town in Central Pennsylvania where we spend our days hiking, gardening, playing with toy trains, and trying to live a non-toxic, holistic lifestyle. Sometimes, we fail. We’re a family of Jesus followers so failure is okay because every day is a new chance to get it right. I’m very excited to be popping up here on Sparrows Apple with Ashleigh!
I was prepared when I began writing to discuss my first cesarean, the one that started it all. With a whirlwind of emotions in such a high intensity experience, from 16 hours of labor to a failed epidural to uncontrolled bleeding and an emergency surgery, that was what I thought I would want to discuss – the day my body “failed” me and my cries of “I can do this myself” went unheard because it was truly life or death. However, as I’m typing, all I can think about it round two – the time my mind “failed” me.
Cody, my dear, adoring husband, wasn’t there with me for round one. God only blessed Aubrey and I with him later in life. He was there, though, for the meltdown of labor two. I am a planner by nature. I planned the second cesarean. I wanted no risk of what happened the first time happening with my little man. I went into labor early but it was okay. We got to the hospital and everything would be fine. I was calm. I had this. I knew what to expect and I mentally prepared myself for ten months.
The doctor looked at me and in one breath, my planning crashed down around me. “This baby wants to come now. You can labor naturally if you’d like. We can skip surgery.”
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t see. I didn’t know what to do. Labor is such a natural, beautiful thing I felt robbed of before and now here it was and I wasn’t ready.
“I’ll be in the room. I won’t leave. Everything is going normally. We’ll get you an epidural if you’d like. It’ll all be over within the hour,” she said so softly and confidently. How could she not see that I was incapable? That was all I could think.
My husband stood beside me and encouraged me. Every last inch of me wanted to try but I was having flashbacks to a time when I was in a similar room but it was full of screaming doctors and sprinting nurses and the urgency that comes along with possibly losing a baby before she gets to even come into this world. I thought to myself “I couldn’t that time, how can I this time?”
I was surrounded by calm love and support and then it happened. “I can’t do it! I’ll kill this baby! I can’t do it! I’m weak and he’ll die! Get him out!” I proceeded to just keep screaming this like the sullen mantra that it was to me. I also wept. Oh, did I weep. I wanted to do it but my mind was telling my body no. I prayed, I cried, I argued with myself. I did this all the way back to the O.R. thinking this meant that I would change my mind. However, when they examined me and yelled “We need to start cutting before the baby is just delivered!” I panicked. I somehow couldn’t stop associating my natural delivery with how I would inevitably fail this child in the process.
Yes, I planned a c-section. Yes, that’s what I chose. But only because vaginal delivery didn’t feel like an option. When I could simply say “Oh, no, that didn’t work out. My body obviously isn’t capable”, I had an out. I had a pretty valid excuse. Then labor came and there it was, the elephant in the room that the excuses had been hiding. I was perfectly healthy this pregnancy. I very much so could try for a VBAC. All eyes fell on me when I didn’t have that sheet of my history to hide behind anymore. Suddenly a “regular” delivery was an option and the only thing stopping us from having it was me.
Ryder was delivered via cesarean in a room full of love and support by a caring staff who didn’t judge me but helped me and went into the arms of a father who saw me as a superhero for what I just gave him. They placed him on my chest and he looked up at me and I wept again. Tears of expected joy but also tears of frustration with myself for “not even trying” as I kept saying to myself.
It has taken a year for me to come to terms with what happened. I have finally seen my “failure” for what it truly was. It was the kind of love that leaves one without reason. I let my self-doubt think I couldn’t do the best thing for my son and that I needed help. And you know what? That is completely and utterly acceptable. I delivered a healthy, beautiful boy the best way I knew how. I recovered once again from a painful surgery so that I could welcome him into our home. I was strong and I was brave and I was enough.
To all the other mommy’s out there struggling with the fact that either your minds or your bodies “failed” you and you couldn’t have the delivery you had hoped for, know this – it was so far from a failure. You braved a mind-blowing procedure to bring that sweet angel into this world. You were so strong. You were so brave. You have always been and will always be enough.
Comment on PostEver since I was a little girl my favorite car has been Volvo. I remember my parents getting the Volvo S70 when I was around 7-8 years old after having gone through a terrible accident that totaled our previous car. As little girl, I remember my number one feeling of why I loved that car so much was because of how safe and secure I felt. That will forever be engrained in my mind until this day! It has always been and will continue to be one of my favorite cars!
I know what you’re thinking.. This is so random, Ashleigh.. Why are you telling me about Volvo?! Don’t worry, I won’t leave you high and dry! I am about to list my top 5 reasons why I believe ALL moms need a Volvo. When I’m done, I’m almost certain you will want to head on over to our friends at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica and purchase this family dream car! Have I got your full attention yet?! Good!!!
Recently, I had the pleasure of driving a brand new 2018 Volvo XC60 T6 Inscription courtesy of Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Let me tell you my friends… It did not disappoint and all of my 8 yr old sweet memories of the Volvo S70 came flooding to the forefront of my mind as I was once again reminded why I love this beautiful, insanely safe car! So without further ado let me share with you why all moms need a Volvo.
‘Top 5 reasons Why All Moms Need A Volvo’
SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!!!!
I mean, I cannot express enough how crazy safe these cars are! You certainly don’t need someone to tell you how safe they are because you can actually feel it the moment you get in the car and close the door. The best way to describe it is like when you have a comfort blanket on and instantly you feel like all is right in the world. The doors are soft closing yet strong like you know that you are about to be driving a tank on the road. Also, Here is a fun fact: Did you know that Volvo were the ones that came up with the 3 point harness seatbelt?! They felt it was so important and such a vital part of safety that they opened up their patent & shared the design allowing other car manufacturers to benefit from their creation because they believe that safety is of utmost importance. Crazy right?! When we put the girls car seats in the backseat, I felt like they were more secure into the car than they are in our Honda! Even Haven was loving the level of comfort that the car itself was bringing and that is saying something HUGE seeing as she is only 3 1/2. I like to believe that our children remember things like that! One of my other favorite things about this car is the fact that the numerical speedometer shows up in the window so that you never have to really look down at your actual speedometer to know what speed you’re going! Some may put this in the “Special Features” category but I am putting it in the Safety category because I never have to take my eyes off of the road. I loved seeing my speed in the window and would repeatedly say in my mind “Why don’t ALL cars have this?!”. It also will show you in the same window what the speed limit is on every street you are driving on as well as alert you when you are at a cross walk, School zone, driving to close to the person next to you, driving a certain amount over the speed limit… You guys, This “Safety feature” for me was EVERYTHING!!!
FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FEATURES
Lets be honest… We all know that the FIRST thing we think of when deciding on a new car is how awesome the center column of the car is and all the features, right? Well, The Volvo XC60 has quite a stand out from other cars I’ve seen. As a mother and frankly just not the most tech savvy person I’ve ever met, the functionality of all all the buttons and gadgets in a car have got to be easy to use because I don’t have time to fool around with those little things when I’m trying to drive, so I love that the features in this car are equivalent to using your iPhone. Its so straight forward: Swipe right, swipe left, apps easily accessible with just with the touch of your finger, etc. One of my favorite features was that it has apple car play in the car! Anything that allows me to access my most used and important apps on my phone on the road has got 2 thumbs up in my book! The car gives you an option to heat up the seats & steering wheel on cold days, adjust how much you want the seat to hug your body and get this… It even gives you an option in BOTH the driver & passenger seats to give a massage (What?!) Tell me that is not every moms dream! You better believe I put that baby to good use during our time together. Another feature I found to be helpful was the back up camera with the navigating tire lines & alerts when your too close to an object . Living in LA there are a lot of tight spots you’re parking in, lots of parallel parking and if I’m being honest… just some really insane drivers, so this feature was really great to have!
INTERNAL SPACE
When you have kids and you’re in the market for a car to fit your lifestyle, your likely going to search for the most spacious car you can find, right? Seeing as we are currently van drivers and have ample space in our car I was fully expecting to feel a bit packed into this car. I was definitely wrong!! Never once did I feel like we were cramped inside! As a matter of fact it makes you feel the opposite. You feel like you have your own space for each passenger in the car, even my girls in the back seat! The trunk is extremely spacious as well leaving more than enough room for: Stroller, groceries and all the other gadgets and things that us moms feel the need to have in the trunks of our cars. Needless to say, Space is not an issue with the Volvo XC60.
EASY HANDLING OF THE CAR
Nothing bugs me more than a car that is hard to steer, am I alone?! It may sound like since the car is so strong and I’ve described it as being a tank, that it would be hard to steer and have a friction in the steering wheel.. WRONG! Its actually the exact opposite! I decided to make this one of my main top reasons why moms need a Volvo because I feel like anything that makes your life easier and more enjoyable with the amount of time that we spend in our cars with kids is worth highlighting. When you pair the safety features with the ease of driving and handling the car, you have gold my friends! Like you literally just hit the jackpot in cars. I thought I had it made in my Honda Odyssey until my hands got on that Volvo XC60.. Mind. BLOWN! I loved driving through the Los Angeles hills because it almost created a different friction in the steering wheel with different whips and turns just out of safety but never once gave me the feeling of being out of control. It always gave me the feeling of ease and (again) safety.
COMPANY HONESTY
Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to support companies and business’ who value honesty and support of people above all else. Any company that can show those things without having to overly emphasize that those are their values has my full backing and support! With that being said, I have 100% seen those qualities in Volvo and Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Who doesn’t want to purchase from someone who is honest, passionate, knowledgable and supportive about their product?! When I learned about the released patent of the 3 part harness and that one of their mottos at Volvo is that they are more concerned of the safety of the people than the money… Guys, That says a TON about a company! That is a company I want to stand behind and have their product. You don’t see many (if any) other companies doing the same! They are vocal about the fact that they are more about the quality of the car than upgrading it to a new style every few years. They are confident in the cars that they produce so much so that they don’t feel the need to have to keep upgrading them. When it comes down to it, they really are the safest cars on the road and fly under the radar as a discrete luxury vehicle.
Have I got you at the edge of your seat because you want to run to the Volvo dealership?! Good, You should!! 🙂 Every family needs a safe car and I truly believe with all of my heart that Volvo should be your #1 top choice. Thank you Volvo Cars of Santa Monica for giving me the full Volvo XC60 Inscription experience, You guys are the best!
PS. I have to give a HUGE shout out to one of the salesman, Christopher White over at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable people and knows all the ins and outs of volvo. The amount of information he was sharing with us both about the company and also the car I was driving was astonishing. Yet again, Passion was shinning through and not in an overbearing way but rather an inspiring & excited for what your about to experience type of way. You rock Christopher!
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Let’s get real… Being a stay at home mom isn’t always cupcakes & rainbows, Arts & Crafts, I just hang with my kids all day amazingness. The truth is, at least for me, The “Stay At Home Mom Blues” is a thing! As amazing as it is being a stay at home mom, it’s quite possibly one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had + also one of the most emotionally exhausting! Of course we could talk about all of the fun + amazing things that staying at home with your littles brings but then we wouldn’t be truthful to the Stay At Home Mom Blues that we also face and how we can conquer them, right?! By no means do I have it all down! In fact, I believe that as our girls get older and the more children we have I’m constantly having to change things around, think differently and give myself grace in different areas.
So here are my top 6 ways to overcome the Stay At Home Mom Blues:
I hope that these ‘Top 6 ways to overcome the Stay At Home Mom Blues’ help you and maybe puts some extra tools in your mommy needs tool belt! As always, please feel free to leave some comments + share ideas of what helps you overcome the stay at home mom blues! We always love to hear from our Sparrow’s Apple community!
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I think that many of us would love to have a weekly awesome date, where money is no issue, right?! Truth be told.. whose life is that? haha while there may be some out there who can make that awesomeness happen every week or month, theres a big majority of us couples who unfortunately just do not have the budget for that. Add childcare to that too if you have littles and you can just forget about it! So I am here to share with you some of our date on a dime ideas.
I don’t know about you but I grew up with it modeled to me that dates happened when the bank account was on the higher end and you could pull off some fine dining, a brand new outfit, etc. Because of that dates were extremely rare! When I got older and started dating my now husband, I realized.. Im a huge quality time person! If the only quality time that I get to spend with the love of my life is when we can most afford it than my relationship is not only going to suffer but my love language is going to start feeling super neglected. I think it was then that I realized that dates don’t have to look like how it was originally modeled to me. Dates don’t have to mean $$$… It does however mean that you have to be more INTENTIONAL and CREATIVE.
Don’t get me wrong.. I LOVE an extravagant date night! I love to dress up and get all sexy, go to a really nice dinner, see a movie or maybe just sit and drink cocktails enjoying each others company the rest of the night but thats not always realistic. We have to budget for a date like that and I’m just trying to get regular time with my man! Ya know?! Im not trying to wait for my bank account to tell me when I can spend some quality time with my husband!! So I wanted to share with you our most recent affordable (to us) date. Mind you, even this might be a little much for some but I will definitely be sharing some other dates that cost even less than this if any cost at all in some other blog posts.
The most expensive part about this date was lunch. Again, this might not be in your budget and thats OK! you don’t have to eat lunch out. This is a date on a dime so don’t be ashamed to just make a lunch and bring it to a park!! Heck, that might be even more romantic. Use this meal as your special treat day and go to your favorite burger place. (Our burger place of choice would either be between the Habit or In-n-out) on this date in particular we decided we wanted to try a new to us restaurant on Ventura Blvd called On The Thirty and Oh. My. Goodness… It did not disappoint!!! The truffle fries… we literally had to force ourselves to stop eating them because they were pretty dangerous. My pregnant self couldn’t handle all of the goodness.
It was so good that I forgot to take a photo of my meal because I just couldn’t wait.. So this is a random photo of someone else’s plate off of yelp with the same thing that I had. YUMMMY is an understatement for real!
Okay, back down off of food land. The next thing we did after lunch was head to The Getty Museum which is FREE.com, you only have to pay for parking which is $15 from open to 3pm and then its $10. We were kind of riding the late train that day and got there right at 3 so we paid $10 for parking and while in the museum we got a coffee because it was pretty chilly out and we started going downhill after that lunch. Tired eyes were happening! (And all the parents say, AMEN!) All in all I think we spent around $15 with parking and coffee’s, not bad right?
And… that’s IT!!! DATE ON A DIME COMPLETE! Quality time was had, bellies were full, good food + coffee were consumed and we still had the night to spend with our girls. Easy right?!
So get out there and have yourself a good time with your significant other!!!
-xoxo-
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You are about to be invited into the most epic love stories ever. Although, I think that everyone thinks that their love story is awesome so i’ll just draft ours into the epic love story book along side everyone else’s. Who knew that May 7, 2010 would mark the beginning of when our love story began?! I know one thing is for sure, I had NO clue!
First off, I want to start out by saying that I was in a place of contentment in my young 21 year old life. I was never into the dating scene. As a matter of fact, I would always get teased my whole life that I was too picky when it came to a future spouse and that I would never fins someone who would fit my list of must haves. Still, I stuck to my guns and never dated around because I personally felt like it was a waste of my time and the other persons time if I knew right off that bat that I couldn’t see myself being with this person. I also oddly enough always got turned off by being overly pursued by men, it always felt super overwhelming, pushy and fake. Again, this was just a personal thing. I am in NO WAY saying that the dating scene shouldn’t exist.. it just wasn’t for me and I 100% embraced that.
When I had met August he was a true gentlemen and really kind of business like. When he got my number he asked for it exactly like this “I don’t even have your INFORMATION.” I thought, “information? ok, he’s definitely not trying to pick me up!” So the obvious choice was to give him my cell phone number and work email right?! haha I still laugh at that. Even when he texted or called me I never got the impression that he was trying to hit on me, I legitimately roped him into the friend zone right along with all of my other guy friends until that one day… May 7, 2010.. I still remember so vividly standing in my kitchen wearing my favorite Hollister jeans and orange tank top with a white tank underneath, my hair was super curly then and was worn in a side pony that day. I was doing something at the kitchen counter when he called and asked me if I was hungry because he had just gotten off of work and wanted to hang out with someone. (Sly move- yet again, riding under the radar in the pursuit of wanting to get to know me more.) I immediately said “yea, sure, where should I meet you?” He proceeded by asking me if I liked mediterranean food and that he would swoop me up from my house. The minute I hung up the phone I literally said to myself.. “Why did I just say yes to dinner? I JUST ate!!” But of course I just shrugged my shoulders and went with it. When he got to my house he knocked on my door, My dad answered and they immediately hit it off talking about the sports jacket that August was wearing. My dad is heavily into menswear and oddly enough, so is August. (Check #1 on my want list- Be able to connect with my dad on some level because he’s a hard one to connect to on a personal level.) So we all chatted a bit and headed out to go eat or try to eat Mediterranean.
So here I am sitting at the table with this man who I really had just met maybe a week prior, still no clue that he even had the slightest bit of interest in me until he had asked me what I was passionate about. I listed off a the top things that I was passionate about and his response to that was “A woman after my own heart!” as he leans back in his chair with a smile. It wasn’t until that moment that I knew he was interested in me and that this was actually a DATE! Shortly after that moment was when I almost zoned out for a second and said to myself “OH. MY. GOD… I am sitting at a table with the man I am going to be spending the rest of my life with.” You guys, people talk about how you can have moments like that and I wouldn’t say that I never believed it…but I’m not sure I could wrap my head around how you could just know in an instant until it happened to me! I literally just just knew! Like it was an unwavering, no questions asked, The light bulb just went off and is shining bright, this guy is everything I had been praying for since I knew how to pray, I can’t believe this is happening to me moment. Of course I DID NOT share this with him and was just as calm, cool and collected as I was when our date first started when I was completely oblivious so he had no idea. That night we were the last people out of the restaurant. It felt like we were in some sort of a bubble and we finally stepped out of it and realized.. oh , No one is in here anymore and everyone is cleaning up! lol We left there and continued talked for another few hours. By the time he dropped me off it was probably around 1am. I wanted so badly to wake my mom up and tell her all about my night but I settled for just jumping up and down in my room (literally) in pure J O Y that I had just met my future husband! You can only imagine how much sleep I got that night. 🙂 The next morning August text me and asked me how my night was, to which I replied that I didn’t sleep to much. Just from that response he knew that I was into him! I can’t make this stuff up y’all.
This day 8 years ago changed my life! Meeting August was literally one of the biggest enhancements to life that God has given me. So we celebrate this day because it was the day that started our journey, Its the day that I was reminded that God knows the desire of my heart and heard all of my prayers & in spite of all of the jokes that were thrown at me for years about how my standards were too high and unrealistic he decided to gift me with exactly what I wanted in a spouse and more.
So if you’re single, I am here to tell you that IT IS POSSIBLE! Know what you’re looking for and be unwavering in it so that when it comes you’ll never have to question if this is it. If you’re already in a relationship: Dating, engaged or married.. CELEBRATE!! Love deserves to be celebrated and I don’t know about you but I am a firm believer that celebration is one of many things that helps keep love alive!
Cheers to all you lovers out there!!
Comment on PostWho doesn’t love some good ol’ Family holiday traditions that get carried on throughout the years? To think that you could start a tradition in your family that has a strong possibility of surviving decades in the family line blows my mind! Growing up my family didn’t really have to many traditions but the ones we did have I hold really dear to my heart. Seeing as its the first week of christmas season I figured that I would conjure up my top 5 Holiday traditions I can’t live without!
CHRISTMAS CARDS
This is one of the holiday traditions that I am just starting in my own little family. Even before August and I started having kids this was something I insisted that we do. First off, I love taking family photos because it allows you to: a)Have an excuse to buy cute clothes, b)Have some fun family time and lastly c) Capture the ever growing faces of your little ones each year. Those are moments you’ll never get back! I like to think that by people receiving our christmas card, seeing the joy in our expression + the love in our eyes it in return brings Joy and love into their home and its not just another card placed of the fridge. Photo credit: Norina Leyde
ORNAMENT PICKING
This holiday tradition started when I was little. Every year my mom would take us girls out to this store called Paddock (which I don’t even think they are in business anymore) which was technically a pool & spa store but they had INCREDIBLE christmas decor when November/December came around. So we would go there to pick out our ornament for the year, something that was symbolic of the year that we just had. To this day I could pick up most of those ornaments and remember why I picked them out. So naturally after years of us doing this my moms tree is packed with ornaments and it is beautiful!! Its a conversation starter. No 1 ornament is the same as the other, they are all unique and have a story behind them and thats why I love this tradition so much. Of course when you move away from home and you start your own family you have no choice but to start from scratch, right? So we started this tradition the first year of our marriage and have continued on to this day. Now the girls look forward to picking out their individual ornaments for the year. Our “go to” for ornaments is hands down Cost plus. They are always so beautiful, unique and affordable.
Emberleigh’s ornament this year is a cute little dog because she is currently obsessed with “Goggie’s” She points them out wherever we are and if its a stuffed dog than she MUST hold it! 
Haven’s ornament is a ballerina. This girl LOVES to dance + will be a fairy ballerina any chance that she gets.
OH CHRISTMAS TREE, OH CHRISTMAS TREE, YOU MUST GO UP AFTER THANKSGIVING
I cannot get myself to put up the christmas tree until after Thanksgiving! Another holiday tradition that my mom started was turning over the sweet fall decorations to christmas decor the morning after Thanksgiving with my sister and I. No matter what time of the day it was we all did it together while dancing and blasting christmas music throughout the house (Shout out to N’sync’s christmas album for contributing to some of my fondest holiday memories haha). We adore Christmas + all its beauty, the joy it brings +the memories it gives so we like to soak it all in for as long as we can! I have rolled this holiday tradition right on in to my little family and let me tell you… Haven gets SO excited every year to take out all the christmas decor and help us decorate the house. Emberleigh doesn’t quite get it yet but she definitely loved getting into all of our fragile ornaments! That little rugrat haha. I have a strong feeling that she will love it just as much as the rest of us within the next year or so.
CHRISTMAS DAY CINNAMON ROLLS
I mean, who doesn’t love cinnamon rolls?! The sweet smell that fills your home when they are in the oven teasing your tastebuds because they aren’t ready to be eaten yet.. the cream cheese frosting.. You guys, I’m literally drooling over here! We started this holiday tradition in our first year of marriage because we share a mutual love for cinnamon rolls and Christmas so clearly they should be put together then, right?! Now that we have kids its even more fun because Haven loves to “help” me make the dough, which really means.. make a huge mess but it is really fun! We prep them on christmas eve and then that way you can easily pop them in the oven Christmas day and fill your home with the ultimate sweet christmas aroma. Your tastebuds will definitely be in full christmas cheer mode!
DREAM LIST FOR THE UPCOMING NEW YEAR
This might be one of my favorite holiday traditions that my husband and I have started. Each year we write down a list of things that we would like to see come to pass in the approaching new year. We roll the paper up and we stick it in a designated ornament. If you are just starting out than obviously you won’t have anything to read from the year that is passing. This is a fun way for August and I to really reach for dreams, gain prospective and for us, truly see how God honors the desire of our hearts. I love sitting down with August each year both reading what we wrote last year and also making a new list for the year to come.
Thanks to Hearth & Hand with Magnolia for supplying us with out new designated ornament! {Shop here} for this ornament
I LOVE traditions both new + old! They spice up a holiday and make it that much more special. Maybe some of our family holiday traditions will strike a chord for you and you’ll want to incorporate that into your own little family! Please share with us if you do adopt some of our family holiday traditions or if you have some of your own we would love to hear them!
Merry Christmas!!
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This is it!! I cant believe it, I am at the end! Officially 39 weeks and I am feeling all the feels: I’m thankful that this pregnancy has been another healthy one, trying to embrace the fact that this is my last preggo belly but then I’m also feeling very much overweight-bloated-HOT and over it. Does anyone really think about what it will feel like when you’re about to have your last baby the moment that you start your family? I know that I didn’t.. and now here I am! One season is about to end and another is beginning.
I love being pregnant! Feeling the baby move is my favorite, dressing the bump,etc.. but on the other hand I’m so ready to get back into shape and have my body back, I’m looking forward to enjoying the next phase of life! The reality is that when one season is coming to a close you almost have to grieve it and its a necessary grief because that’s how you can fully embrace the next season. We cant expect to constantly relive the same season over and over, right? Nor do we want to! In this situation if I wanted to constantly relive it then we would end up having a million kids. Haha! Truthfully though, we wouldn’t grow without leaving one season completely behind, holding on to the beautiful memories and looking forward to the memories that soon await us just around the corner. That’s how I feel today as I write this. It’s a bittersweet moment to know that this is the last day with my baby belly, the last night I’ll feel uncomfortable, the last baby I will ever feel moving around and yet tomorrow can’t come soon enough!
Pregnancy in these last days for me have been filled with just trying to spend as much quality time with my babies as possible. Since naps happen rarely around here anyways its easy to to just push through all the tiredness and try to soak up all the girl time with them. Pregnancy in these last days for me have been both wonderful but sometimes grueling with the heat. Most of the time when people ask me how I’m feeling my answer will almost always be “I’d be even better if I wasn’t so hot and swollen.” 🙂
Really though, This pregnancy has been a dream and although this season of my life is coming to a close, I am so grateful to have carried 3 beautiful, healthy babies and have had the easiest, most enjoyable pregnancies that most women don’t get the pleasure of having! I’ve had so much fun blogging and sharing all of the maternity clothes that I’ve received and/or bought from different companies that have helped me dress this ever growing bump along the way! Now my friends, its time for the journey back to my body and mama is ready for it!! The question is… Are YOU ready for it?! I hope so because it’s comin at you ready or not. 🙂
Enjoy your week my friends!!
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The past 2 times I think I failed my Husband in this department. Now I know exactly how to pack a hospital bag for your husband, Especially if you know that your stay after birth will be a few days. So I’m here to share all the good deets with you!
My husband, August, is convinced that after a wife gives birth the husband experiences some type of chemical imbalance that causes them to be super tired and leaves them with a ton of cravings that they MUST satisfy. (Cue the rolling of the eyes! Lol) Let me give you a little bit of a back story! With our first daughter he sort of gets a pass because we both didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. Active labor lasted for days… we were all tired, yet somehow, August got way more sleep than myself & my doula and it was still hard to get him it out of the bed after Haven was born haha!! I give him a pass though because it was very, VERY long and exhausting. If I had the opportunity to sleep I would’ve too. BUT THEN came our second daughter who was a scheduled c-section. You guys… I kid you not, August packed his resistance bands in with rest of our things because he was determined in his mind beforehand that things were going to be different. Therefore, My expectation was so much higher! I was excited that at least one of our energy levels would be up and that one of us would be extremely mobile. Fast forward to the second day in the hospital… Let’s just say no one ever even saw those resistance bands and I had to call his name a few times to wake him up! By NO means saying that my husband wasn’t helpful because he was, I just had to adjust my expectations of him. I never even considered that he might be going through a change too or feeling something that he wasn’t sharing. Talking it through after the fact, he expressed that he felt like he couldn’t leave me and being in the hospital room 24/7 made him a bit depressed which then resulted in a ton of sleep and indulging in all kinds of unhealthy things.
What can you do to help your man be the most successful, energetic and helpful partner during your hospital stay so that you don’t have to experience the.. What do we even call this? Post Partum man depression?! Lol
A) Have a chat with your significant other BEFOREHAND and give him permission to walk around outside, get some fresh air & sun, grab a healthy snack and then come back to you in the room recharged so that he can be 100% there for you and isn’t riding the struggle bus!
B) Hook a brotha up in his hospital bag!! If your anything like me than you like to try to cover all of the little details that your husband probably wont think of but are necessities, right?! Here are a few essentials I have packed for August:
When August and I relive those days in the hospital, thankfully, we are able to just laugh about it because it was slightly ridiculous but also.. its real life! Knowing that this has happened twice we now have to be more intentional about it not happening again so that he can better assist me!
My hope is that you get a good laugh out of our own personal experience but also that you feel better equipped for preparing your spouse for your new upcoming arrival and aware of the Post Partum Man Depression that can occur!
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My husband and I have never taken a babymoon until now! Crazy right?! I would always see people going on these awesome trips and think “Man… We need to do that!” Well… I’m proud to say that we set out a time for my mom to come down and watch the girls for a couple of nights and we FINALLY did it!!! We celebrated our baby making phase with one last Hoorah in Santa Monica and it was glorious!!
When you have kids, especially more than one and you get a chance to experience silence or uninterrupted sleep, it feels like the largest gift anyone could ever give you! I could take as many quiet showers as I wanted.. I could go to bed late, sleep in, walk out of the hotel room dressed and ready to go within minutes! I mean, you guys… it was only 2 days but it was pretty amazing!
One of the things I have always wanted to do but for one reason or another we’ve never made it happen, was to ride a bike along the water. Since we had no kids, tons of time and we could fully enjoy ourselves, we decided to do it and watch the sun go down while riding. At this stage in pregnancy, I wanted the most comfortable outfit to ride in, so naturally, I wore my favorite dress to date from Shop Pink Blush! I’m not kidding… This halter dress is a dream for all expecting mothers and to be quite honest, It’s not leaving my closet after this belly is gone. I couldn’t have chosen a better outfit to wear to give me all the airflow I needed. It was perfect for being on the beach and it just looks so stinking cute on!!
What I love about this striped halter dress is the fact that it looks super adorable with some cute white tennis shoes! I never thought I would say this but wearing heels in this stage of pregnancy does NOT sound appealing to me. Not even my small heeled clogs!! I think its mainly because of the heat because my feet and legs swell within minutes of being outside on the daily. So buh-bye heels and hello tennis shoes! If you’re pregnant and looking for a great comfy dress to get you through till the end, definitely Shop PinkBlush!
Needless to say that even though our baby moon was only 2 days, it was wonderfully uninterrupted, peaceful and fun! All the things you can ever hope for to celebrate one last hoorah, right?! We came back home to hug our sweet babes fully ready to kick our booties back into full gear and are now 100% ready for this little mans arrival, or at least we are as soon as my bags are packed! Eek!
Collaboration with PinkBlush
Comment on PostI recently got this fun dark blue Swing dress from Pink Blush and thought I’d share a few different ways that you could dress up or dress down a piece that seems super basic. The best part is that you don’t really need much to change up an outfit, so if you’re one of those who just has no clue what to do when it comes to making 1 dress work for 2-3 occasions than this blog post will be perfect for you!
3 WAYS TO WEAR A SWING DRESS
Who knew that you could get so many outfits out of one piece right?! Here’s the kicker… This Pinkblush dress isn’t even maternity so I can totally rock this after this baby boy is born! You all know I am always about that!!
If you’re looking for a great swing dress with pockets, head to pink blush and check this piece out. I promise you, it’ll be a great addition to your summer closet!
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So you got pregnant and instantly hit baby excitement until you realized… Crap! Im going to be pregnant all summer long, how in the world am I going to survive!? At least that was the process I went through after realizing that this baby and I are going to share the hottest birthday month of the year. AUGUST! I quickly made a mental list of all of my must haves to survive this pregnancy and I’m about to share one with you. Introducing the perfect maternity summer outfit that is sure to keep you cool + comfortable – even with your growing belly and CUTE Thanks to Pink blush maternity!
If there is one thing that I have learned 2 now 3 pregnancies in, its that “if its tight, it ain’t right!”. That is sort of a joke… but not really. There is nothing more uncomfortable than tight clothes, really in general but especially when you’re pregnant, let alone pregnant in the middle of summer! Having pieces that make up the perfect maternity summer outfit that you can mix and match is a must have. So lets get down to the details shall we?! Pink Blush Maternity is always a go to for me when I’m pregnant. They are really reasonable in price and always offer cute comfortable pieces. One of my go to’s this summer that included in the perfect summer maternity outfit are these Blue linen foldover waistband maternity shorts. The waistband is super stretchy and just lays on your belly or waist making it easy to move around and just all around super comfy, while the linen short gives enough airflow (Cause you know you need that), structure and did I mention that they are super soft?! These shorts are so good and can be dressed up or dressed down.
I paired the Linen foldover waistband short with a simple blush ruched tank maternity top that is also super soft, comfy and versatile. Versatility is key when building your perfect summer maternity outfit. I typically gravitate towards simple tops that can be worn with several different ways, this blush top would fall into that category. Throw a simple hat and some accessories, some clogs or white tennis shoes and you are good to go!!
Like I said earlier, Versatility is key when building your maternity capsule. 2 pieces should turn into 3 outfits in stead of just 1. At least, thats how I love to shop! Here’s a few ways that I styled these two pieces…
Thank you Pink Blush maternity for providing me with one of the perfect summer maternity outfits! Now go out and get yours!!
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Happy Workout Wednesday! I thought I would share some workouts that I’ve been loving from other bloggers since being pregnant. Today I’m going to share one of my favorite mommy fitness bloggers @Nourishmovelove that I love to follow who has a 20 min. pregnancy cardio barre workout. There are a few things that I love about this. One being, its quick! The other being that its effective. Give me a quick effective workout any day of the week and I will love you forever! This girl is most certainly not a fan of working out for hours on end. Anyone else with me?! Lindsey, over at Nourish Move Love is doing her thing and if you haven’t heard of her yet, You will thank me later for introducing you to her amazing content. 🙂
I hope that you guys enjoy this Pregnancy Cardio Barre workout as much as I did this morning!
Ps. I used 5lb dumbells for this cardio barre workout
Everyone has a pregnancy truth, right? Im about to get real honest with you but before I do let me start off by saying that i’ve always been one who has enjoyed being pregnant. I know that some if not most women loathe it.. but I legitimately find so much beauty in it! A lot of that comes from the fact that I have had fairly easy pregnancies with little to no sickness just a LOT of tiredness that almost never lets up. Trust me, I am forever grateful for that and will literally be putting easy pregnancies on my list of “Thank you’s” to Jesus when I go to heaven! haha
This pregnancy is trending to be equally the same as my last 2 but heres my pregnancy truth… I’m showing WAY faster this time around than I was with the others. If I am being super honest with you.. That has been such a hurdle to jump over mentally! {Before I proceed in my truth.. I should say that I don’t need an “aww Ashleigh, you look great! Don’t worry about it” talk. Although those are WONDERFUL and I could take compliments all day long.. the truth is that it ultimately is a shift in my mentality and that comes with work on my end. I will survive! Its just another mountain I obviously need to conquer and guess what? I will!! First step to conquering anything is recognizing it and nipping it in the butt.} So here I am, welcoming you into my mental process of embracing ALL of the changes that baby #3 is bringing me: The good, the bad and the ugly in hopes that it encourages other mamas struggling with the same thing during or even after your pregnancy! I promise you, I will never leave out or sugar coat anything in this process.
Here’s to following me on my baby #3 Pregnancy journey, are you ready for this?! 🙂
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I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
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You know the saying “Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend”? Well— In my case “Bags Are A Girls Best Friend”! This Lassig green label diaper bag is speaking all of my handbag love languages. I’m not sure that there is one box that is unchecked when it comes to all of the things that a bag needs for me to use it more than once. Allow me to share with you all the amazing qualities of this bag.
QUALITY
Honestly, I’m not sure photos can do this bag justice. It’s beautiful! The fabric on the outside is nice and thick but really soft. The logo details are extremely subtle. The bag is made really well in that I dont feel like I can’t put too many things in it because it might not hold up.
OPTIONS
If you have been following me for a while than you would know that I LOVE to have options and/or a few ways to wear one thing. The Lassig Diaper bag has that quality! It felt like Christmas with the amount of strap options I was pulling out when I first got it.
SPACE
Even though I try to not carry my entire house in my diaper bag, I do love a good bag with a ton of space. Again— Lassig wins in this area. In fact, they give you so many pockets (options) to hide things in discreetly, its amazing!!
Lastly, The bonus of this bag that 100% takes the cake is the fact that it’s ECO-friendly!! So if you are an Eco-friendly conscious person than this Lassig Green Label Diaper Bag is for you!
**This post is Sponsored but all opionions are my own**
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Sickness is not welcomed in my house BUT should one of us come down with with something like a cold I try to turn to as many clean but effective medicines as possible! This is why I am a huge fan of Hylands 4 kid’s cold n’ mucus! I’ve been using Hylands since Haven, my youngest, was a baby and have zero complaints. It has proven time and time again to be tremendously helpful. To know that we are walking into this winter season fully stocked and prepared with Hyland’s 4 kids Cold n’ mucus Fay & night is a relief. Both because I know that it will be helpful should symptoms arise but also because I know Hylands uses all natural active ingredients! Hyland’s 4 Kids Cold ‘n Mucus-syrup is sugar-free, dye-free, and provides non-invasive relief to work with your child’s natural defenses and immune system.
I don’t know about you but there’s nothing worse than one of my kids being full of congestion, going to sleep and having a hard time breathing.. it breaks my heart! With Hylands 4 kid’s cold n’ mucus day & night they have us covered— literally day & night!! With the daytime formula breaking up the mucus and easing congestion to the nighttime formula relaxing their bodies to have a more restful night to break down the mucus. You can rest assured that Hylands pulled out all the stops to help your little babe on those sick days!
HI, THAT IS AMAZING and the Coryell home is definitely a fan of Hyland’s 4 Kid’s cold n’ mucus!!
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I am a huge fan of wearing compression undies & belly girdles post baby! I started wearing them after having Emberleigh, my now middle child and I’m not sure how I did without it after having my first child. The worst thing in the world to me is feeling my lack of muscle and loose skin post baby, flopping around and feeling weak when I pick things up. Wearing a belly girdle or postpartum compression underwear helps to make you feel put together, it helps your muscles remember that they were once all put together and that’s what we want, right?
I had the opportunity to do a collaboration with Bellefit and give my very honest opinion about the Bellefit girdle. First and foremost, right before ordering, they had me answer a few questions so that they could be sure to find the right size for you. With all of my measurements and everything, we landed on a size medium. They put in the order and shipped it right away. They say that the sooner that you can start wearing it the better and more affective it will be and I couldn’t agree more.
The quality of the Bellefit girdle is amazing! It beats the ones from motherhood and amazon by like 90% haha. Just like anything clothes related that I receive in the mail, I put this on immediately and was super excited. The fit was incredible and when I put clothes over it you couldn’t even tell that I was wearing a girdle underneath which to me is the biggest thing when wearing one. Want to know the best part?! It has a few hook and eye clips in the crotch area so when you have to go to the bathroom you don’t have to take the whole thing off! (Lifting all the praise )
I wholeheartedly believe and support Bellefit! I feel like it’s well worth spending the money on and would (and have) refer Bellefit to every mommy!
Use promo code: SPARROW for $20 off
I’m not going to lie, this idea was not my own BUT its genius and also a challenge! So many times over social media we share the clean, perfected, staged version of our lives but not many get to see the “daily moments”. The ones that are full of unfolded laundry, teaching your babies, doing crafts with them, etc. When I started Sparrows Apple I was determined to share those raw moments in my life with you in hopes that there would be a nugget of inspiration or encouragement that you would be able to take away. If nothing else, documenting my daily moments will only help me remember these baby days even more. So without further a due, I welcome you to “The Daily Moments”.
I started out my day feeling super overwhelmed by all of the laundry that we had accumulated. So to combat my feelings.. I completed a workout, made a cup of tea and decided to share the hot mess that is my house because I cant be the only one feeling like this today.. right?! Just in case you were wondering… It actually didn’t take that long for me to put everything away!
After we cleaned the house I was determined to do some type of craft to get them working together and to just be creative. Not only that but I almost never do any type of tedious craft with them since AJ has joined us. As you can see, the girls were eager to get everything out of the box
This Little cute foam gingerbread airstream I quickly learned is definitely more for older kids.. I finally had to resort to giving Haven the job of decorating the little tree and putting the stickers on the people. Meanwhile Ember moved on to…
Playing Doctor!
Then we moved on to some learning and snack time.
Haven is starting to learn her sight words and learning how to spell with Marcopolo World School. We do more stuff with her that doesn’t include screens but to be honest, mama needed a moment. Plus I was prepping their next activity.
Stickers are their favorite! I had Haven spell out ”sticker” with them and Ember just got to be creative with it.
Towards the end of the day we start prepping for daddy to come home. Dinner gets made, the girls play and get all amped up for when he walks through the door. I captured a few sweet moments with Haven and AJ that I HAD to share with you.
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Ever since I was a little girl my favorite car has been Volvo. I remember my parents getting the Volvo S70 when I was around 7-8 years old after having gone through a terrible accident that totaled our previous car. As little girl, I remember my number one feeling of why I loved that car so much was because of how safe and secure I felt. That will forever be engrained in my mind until this day! It has always been and will continue to be one of my favorite cars!
I know what you’re thinking.. This is so random, Ashleigh.. Why are you telling me about Volvo?! Don’t worry, I won’t leave you high and dry! I am about to list my top 5 reasons why I believe ALL moms need a Volvo. When I’m done, I’m almost certain you will want to head on over to our friends at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica and purchase this family dream car! Have I got your full attention yet?! Good!!!
Recently, I had the pleasure of driving a brand new 2018 Volvo XC60 T6 Inscription courtesy of Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Let me tell you my friends… It did not disappoint and all of my 8 yr old sweet memories of the Volvo S70 came flooding to the forefront of my mind as I was once again reminded why I love this beautiful, insanely safe car! So without further ado let me share with you why all moms need a Volvo.
‘Top 5 reasons Why All Moms Need A Volvo’
SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!!!!
I mean, I cannot express enough how crazy safe these cars are! You certainly don’t need someone to tell you how safe they are because you can actually feel it the moment you get in the car and close the door. The best way to describe it is like when you have a comfort blanket on and instantly you feel like all is right in the world. The doors are soft closing yet strong like you know that you are about to be driving a tank on the road. Also, Here is a fun fact: Did you know that Volvo were the ones that came up with the 3 point harness seatbelt?! They felt it was so important and such a vital part of safety that they opened up their patent & shared the design allowing other car manufacturers to benefit from their creation because they believe that safety is of utmost importance. Crazy right?! When we put the girls car seats in the backseat, I felt like they were more secure into the car than they are in our Honda! Even Haven was loving the level of comfort that the car itself was bringing and that is saying something HUGE seeing as she is only 3 1/2. I like to believe that our children remember things like that! One of my other favorite things about this car is the fact that the numerical speedometer shows up in the window so that you never have to really look down at your actual speedometer to know what speed you’re going! Some may put this in the “Special Features” category but I am putting it in the Safety category because I never have to take my eyes off of the road. I loved seeing my speed in the window and would repeatedly say in my mind “Why don’t ALL cars have this?!”. It also will show you in the same window what the speed limit is on every street you are driving on as well as alert you when you are at a cross walk, School zone, driving to close to the person next to you, driving a certain amount over the speed limit… You guys, This “Safety feature” for me was EVERYTHING!!!
FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FEATURES
Lets be honest… We all know that the FIRST thing we think of when deciding on a new car is how awesome the center column of the car is and all the features, right? Well, The Volvo XC60 has quite a stand out from other cars I’ve seen. As a mother and frankly just not the most tech savvy person I’ve ever met, the functionality of all all the buttons and gadgets in a car have got to be easy to use because I don’t have time to fool around with those little things when I’m trying to drive, so I love that the features in this car are equivalent to using your iPhone. Its so straight forward: Swipe right, swipe left, apps easily accessible with just with the touch of your finger, etc. One of my favorite features was that it has apple car play in the car! Anything that allows me to access my most used and important apps on my phone on the road has got 2 thumbs up in my book! The car gives you an option to heat up the seats & steering wheel on cold days, adjust how much you want the seat to hug your body and get this… It even gives you an option in BOTH the driver & passenger seats to give a massage (What?!) Tell me that is not every moms dream! You better believe I put that baby to good use during our time together. Another feature I found to be helpful was the back up camera with the navigating tire lines & alerts when your too close to an object . Living in LA there are a lot of tight spots you’re parking in, lots of parallel parking and if I’m being honest… just some really insane drivers, so this feature was really great to have!
INTERNAL SPACE
When you have kids and you’re in the market for a car to fit your lifestyle, your likely going to search for the most spacious car you can find, right? Seeing as we are currently van drivers and have ample space in our car I was fully expecting to feel a bit packed into this car. I was definitely wrong!! Never once did I feel like we were cramped inside! As a matter of fact it makes you feel the opposite. You feel like you have your own space for each passenger in the car, even my girls in the back seat! The trunk is extremely spacious as well leaving more than enough room for: Stroller, groceries and all the other gadgets and things that us moms feel the need to have in the trunks of our cars. Needless to say, Space is not an issue with the Volvo XC60.
EASY HANDLING OF THE CAR
Nothing bugs me more than a car that is hard to steer, am I alone?! It may sound like since the car is so strong and I’ve described it as being a tank, that it would be hard to steer and have a friction in the steering wheel.. WRONG! Its actually the exact opposite! I decided to make this one of my main top reasons why moms need a Volvo because I feel like anything that makes your life easier and more enjoyable with the amount of time that we spend in our cars with kids is worth highlighting. When you pair the safety features with the ease of driving and handling the car, you have gold my friends! Like you literally just hit the jackpot in cars. I thought I had it made in my Honda Odyssey until my hands got on that Volvo XC60.. Mind. BLOWN! I loved driving through the Los Angeles hills because it almost created a different friction in the steering wheel with different whips and turns just out of safety but never once gave me the feeling of being out of control. It always gave me the feeling of ease and (again) safety.
COMPANY HONESTY
Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to support companies and business’ who value honesty and support of people above all else. Any company that can show those things without having to overly emphasize that those are their values has my full backing and support! With that being said, I have 100% seen those qualities in Volvo and Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Who doesn’t want to purchase from someone who is honest, passionate, knowledgable and supportive about their product?! When I learned about the released patent of the 3 part harness and that one of their mottos at Volvo is that they are more concerned of the safety of the people than the money… Guys, That says a TON about a company! That is a company I want to stand behind and have their product. You don’t see many (if any) other companies doing the same! They are vocal about the fact that they are more about the quality of the car than upgrading it to a new style every few years. They are confident in the cars that they produce so much so that they don’t feel the need to have to keep upgrading them. When it comes down to it, they really are the safest cars on the road and fly under the radar as a discrete luxury vehicle.
Have I got you at the edge of your seat because you want to run to the Volvo dealership?! Good, You should!! 🙂 Every family needs a safe car and I truly believe with all of my heart that Volvo should be your #1 top choice. Thank you Volvo Cars of Santa Monica for giving me the full Volvo XC60 Inscription experience, You guys are the best!
PS. I have to give a HUGE shout out to one of the salesman, Christopher White over at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable people and knows all the ins and outs of volvo. The amount of information he was sharing with us both about the company and also the car I was driving was astonishing. Yet again, Passion was shinning through and not in an overbearing way but rather an inspiring & excited for what your about to experience type of way. You rock Christopher!
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I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
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I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
Comment on PostYou know those days when there seems to be more demand and your energy just doesn’t seem to match?! That was me yesterday! At the end of the night though, when all the kids were down for the count, I was looking back at the photos I had snapped of the day— as exhausted as I was I thought to myself.. “They had SO much fun today!!”. We spent hours playing, got a nap in (well 2 of them did anyways) they had a bit of screen time, played again and then went to bed. Such a great day! Enjoy our daily moments.
1) It all started with the excitement for a morning waffle! (FYI- we tried a new brand of waffles made with Cassava flour by a brand called Kitchfix. They were surpringly really good! Kind of like a smaller Belgian waffle consistency)
2) A little bit of play time for AJ in his new play center by Oribel
3) Heading out the door with a bag of snacks for the car ofcourse.
The question is… are they fighting here or are they playing?! you decide, I wont spoil it with the truth! Lol
4) A little joy ride while the other 2 take a nap.
5) The face of a little girl who is V excited to play at her favorite play spot, The green Chataeu
6) We spent a few hours at this sweet spot and they were enjoying every moment.
Even AJ was lovin’ it!
Then theres Emberleigh and her love for the slides
7) After a few hours of playing— Let’s be honest, mama was tired. soooo I busted out the pads at home. I needed some down time!
8) Ended the day kissing on this guy before his nap time and our night routine.
I have been on a hunt trying to figure out all the realistic ways that can help me reduce stress and I think that I’ve come up with my top 3 that I’ve found helpful thus far. Seeing that I am now in my 3rd trimester and things can be a bit more stressful to manage just because of all the extra weight I’m carrying and tack on the heat to that. Lord Jesus help me… this is one of the top things I’m trying to focus on.
Here are my 3 Ways To Reduce Stress:
I know that everyone has their own ways of relieving stress OR maybe you’re still on that journey of still trying to figure it out like I am. I’d love for you to share in the comments your strategies and/or areas of your life that could use A bit of tweaking! Let’s be a community of people who build one another up and strive to live a whole lot more stress free!!
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I have been on a hunt trying to figure out all the realistic ways that can help me reduce stress and I think that I’ve come up with my top 3 that I’ve found helpful thus far. Seeing that I am now in my 3rd trimester and things can be a bit more stressful to manage just because of all the extra weight I’m carrying and tack on the heat to that. Lord Jesus help me… this is one of the top things I’m trying to focus on.
Here are my 3 Ways To Reduce Stress:
I know that everyone has their own ways of relieving stress OR maybe you’re still on that journey of still trying to figure it out like I am. I’d love for you to share in the comments your strategies and/or areas of your life that could use A bit of tweaking! Let’s be a community of people who build one another up and strive to live a whole lot more stress free!!
Comment on Post
I have been on a hunt trying to figure out all the realistic ways that can help me reduce stress and I think that I’ve come up with my top 3 that I’ve found helpful thus far. Seeing that I am now in my 3rd trimester and things can be a bit more stressful to manage just because of all the extra weight I’m carrying and tack on the heat to that. Lord Jesus help me… this is one of the top things I’m trying to focus on.
Here are my 3 Ways To Reduce Stress:
I know that everyone has their own ways of relieving stress OR maybe you’re still on that journey of still trying to figure it out like I am. I’d love for you to share in the comments your strategies and/or areas of your life that could use A bit of tweaking! Let’s be a community of people who build one another up and strive to live a whole lot more stress free!!
Comment on Post
I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
Comment on Post
I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
Comment on PostEver since I was a little girl my favorite car has been Volvo. I remember my parents getting the Volvo S70 when I was around 7-8 years old after having gone through a terrible accident that totaled our previous car. As little girl, I remember my number one feeling of why I loved that car so much was because of how safe and secure I felt. That will forever be engrained in my mind until this day! It has always been and will continue to be one of my favorite cars!
I know what you’re thinking.. This is so random, Ashleigh.. Why are you telling me about Volvo?! Don’t worry, I won’t leave you high and dry! I am about to list my top 5 reasons why I believe ALL moms need a Volvo. When I’m done, I’m almost certain you will want to head on over to our friends at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica and purchase this family dream car! Have I got your full attention yet?! Good!!!
Recently, I had the pleasure of driving a brand new 2018 Volvo XC60 T6 Inscription courtesy of Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Let me tell you my friends… It did not disappoint and all of my 8 yr old sweet memories of the Volvo S70 came flooding to the forefront of my mind as I was once again reminded why I love this beautiful, insanely safe car! So without further ado let me share with you why all moms need a Volvo.
‘Top 5 reasons Why All Moms Need A Volvo’
SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!!!!
I mean, I cannot express enough how crazy safe these cars are! You certainly don’t need someone to tell you how safe they are because you can actually feel it the moment you get in the car and close the door. The best way to describe it is like when you have a comfort blanket on and instantly you feel like all is right in the world. The doors are soft closing yet strong like you know that you are about to be driving a tank on the road. Also, Here is a fun fact: Did you know that Volvo were the ones that came up with the 3 point harness seatbelt?! They felt it was so important and such a vital part of safety that they opened up their patent & shared the design allowing other car manufacturers to benefit from their creation because they believe that safety is of utmost importance. Crazy right?! When we put the girls car seats in the backseat, I felt like they were more secure into the car than they are in our Honda! Even Haven was loving the level of comfort that the car itself was bringing and that is saying something HUGE seeing as she is only 3 1/2. I like to believe that our children remember things like that! One of my other favorite things about this car is the fact that the numerical speedometer shows up in the window so that you never have to really look down at your actual speedometer to know what speed you’re going! Some may put this in the “Special Features” category but I am putting it in the Safety category because I never have to take my eyes off of the road. I loved seeing my speed in the window and would repeatedly say in my mind “Why don’t ALL cars have this?!”. It also will show you in the same window what the speed limit is on every street you are driving on as well as alert you when you are at a cross walk, School zone, driving to close to the person next to you, driving a certain amount over the speed limit… You guys, This “Safety feature” for me was EVERYTHING!!!
FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FEATURES
Lets be honest… We all know that the FIRST thing we think of when deciding on a new car is how awesome the center column of the car is and all the features, right? Well, The Volvo XC60 has quite a stand out from other cars I’ve seen. As a mother and frankly just not the most tech savvy person I’ve ever met, the functionality of all all the buttons and gadgets in a car have got to be easy to use because I don’t have time to fool around with those little things when I’m trying to drive, so I love that the features in this car are equivalent to using your iPhone. Its so straight forward: Swipe right, swipe left, apps easily accessible with just with the touch of your finger, etc. One of my favorite features was that it has apple car play in the car! Anything that allows me to access my most used and important apps on my phone on the road has got 2 thumbs up in my book! The car gives you an option to heat up the seats & steering wheel on cold days, adjust how much you want the seat to hug your body and get this… It even gives you an option in BOTH the driver & passenger seats to give a massage (What?!) Tell me that is not every moms dream! You better believe I put that baby to good use during our time together. Another feature I found to be helpful was the back up camera with the navigating tire lines & alerts when your too close to an object . Living in LA there are a lot of tight spots you’re parking in, lots of parallel parking and if I’m being honest… just some really insane drivers, so this feature was really great to have!
INTERNAL SPACE
When you have kids and you’re in the market for a car to fit your lifestyle, your likely going to search for the most spacious car you can find, right? Seeing as we are currently van drivers and have ample space in our car I was fully expecting to feel a bit packed into this car. I was definitely wrong!! Never once did I feel like we were cramped inside! As a matter of fact it makes you feel the opposite. You feel like you have your own space for each passenger in the car, even my girls in the back seat! The trunk is extremely spacious as well leaving more than enough room for: Stroller, groceries and all the other gadgets and things that us moms feel the need to have in the trunks of our cars. Needless to say, Space is not an issue with the Volvo XC60.
EASY HANDLING OF THE CAR
Nothing bugs me more than a car that is hard to steer, am I alone?! It may sound like since the car is so strong and I’ve described it as being a tank, that it would be hard to steer and have a friction in the steering wheel.. WRONG! Its actually the exact opposite! I decided to make this one of my main top reasons why moms need a Volvo because I feel like anything that makes your life easier and more enjoyable with the amount of time that we spend in our cars with kids is worth highlighting. When you pair the safety features with the ease of driving and handling the car, you have gold my friends! Like you literally just hit the jackpot in cars. I thought I had it made in my Honda Odyssey until my hands got on that Volvo XC60.. Mind. BLOWN! I loved driving through the Los Angeles hills because it almost created a different friction in the steering wheel with different whips and turns just out of safety but never once gave me the feeling of being out of control. It always gave me the feeling of ease and (again) safety.
COMPANY HONESTY
Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to support companies and business’ who value honesty and support of people above all else. Any company that can show those things without having to overly emphasize that those are their values has my full backing and support! With that being said, I have 100% seen those qualities in Volvo and Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Who doesn’t want to purchase from someone who is honest, passionate, knowledgable and supportive about their product?! When I learned about the released patent of the 3 part harness and that one of their mottos at Volvo is that they are more concerned of the safety of the people than the money… Guys, That says a TON about a company! That is a company I want to stand behind and have their product. You don’t see many (if any) other companies doing the same! They are vocal about the fact that they are more about the quality of the car than upgrading it to a new style every few years. They are confident in the cars that they produce so much so that they don’t feel the need to have to keep upgrading them. When it comes down to it, they really are the safest cars on the road and fly under the radar as a discrete luxury vehicle.
Have I got you at the edge of your seat because you want to run to the Volvo dealership?! Good, You should!! 🙂 Every family needs a safe car and I truly believe with all of my heart that Volvo should be your #1 top choice. Thank you Volvo Cars of Santa Monica for giving me the full Volvo XC60 Inscription experience, You guys are the best!
PS. I have to give a HUGE shout out to one of the salesman, Christopher White over at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable people and knows all the ins and outs of volvo. The amount of information he was sharing with us both about the company and also the car I was driving was astonishing. Yet again, Passion was shinning through and not in an overbearing way but rather an inspiring & excited for what your about to experience type of way. You rock Christopher!
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You know those days when there seems to be more demand and your energy just doesn’t seem to match?! That was me yesterday! At the end of the night though, when all the kids were down for the count, I was looking back at the photos I had snapped of the day— as exhausted as I was I thought to myself.. “They had SO much fun today!!”. We spent hours playing, got a nap in (well 2 of them did anyways) they had a bit of screen time, played again and then went to bed. Such a great day! Enjoy our daily moments.
1) It all started with the excitement for a morning waffle! (FYI- we tried a new brand of waffles made with Cassava flour by a brand called Kitchfix. They were surpringly really good! Kind of like a smaller Belgian waffle consistency)
2) A little bit of play time for AJ in his new play center by Oribel
3) Heading out the door with a bag of snacks for the car ofcourse.
The question is… are they fighting here or are they playing?! you decide, I wont spoil it with the truth! Lol
4) A little joy ride while the other 2 take a nap.
5) The face of a little girl who is V excited to play at her favorite play spot, The green Chataeu
6) We spent a few hours at this sweet spot and they were enjoying every moment.
Even AJ was lovin’ it!
Then theres Emberleigh and her love for the slides
7) After a few hours of playing— Let’s be honest, mama was tired. soooo I busted out the pads at home. I needed some down time!
8) Ended the day kissing on this guy before his nap time and our night routine.
I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
Comment on Post
I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
Comment on PostYou know those days when there seems to be more demand and your energy just doesn’t seem to match?! That was me yesterday! At the end of the night though, when all the kids were down for the count, I was looking back at the photos I had snapped of the day— as exhausted as I was I thought to myself.. “They had SO much fun today!!”. We spent hours playing, got a nap in (well 2 of them did anyways) they had a bit of screen time, played again and then went to bed. Such a great day! Enjoy our daily moments.
1) It all started with the excitement for a morning waffle! (FYI- we tried a new brand of waffles made with Cassava flour by a brand called Kitchfix. They were surpringly really good! Kind of like a smaller Belgian waffle consistency)
2) A little bit of play time for AJ in his new play center by Oribel
3) Heading out the door with a bag of snacks for the car ofcourse.
The question is… are they fighting here or are they playing?! you decide, I wont spoil it with the truth! Lol
4) A little joy ride while the other 2 take a nap.
5) The face of a little girl who is V excited to play at her favorite play spot, The green Chataeu
6) We spent a few hours at this sweet spot and they were enjoying every moment.
Even AJ was lovin’ it!
Then theres Emberleigh and her love for the slides
7) After a few hours of playing— Let’s be honest, mama was tired. soooo I busted out the pads at home. I needed some down time!
8) Ended the day kissing on this guy before his nap time and our night routine.
You know those days when there seems to be more demand and your energy just doesn’t seem to match?! That was me yesterday! At the end of the night though, when all the kids were down for the count, I was looking back at the photos I had snapped of the day— as exhausted as I was I thought to myself.. “They had SO much fun today!!”. We spent hours playing, got a nap in (well 2 of them did anyways) they had a bit of screen time, played again and then went to bed. Such a great day! Enjoy our daily moments.
1) It all started with the excitement for a morning waffle! (FYI- we tried a new brand of waffles made with Cassava flour by a brand called Kitchfix. They were surpringly really good! Kind of like a smaller Belgian waffle consistency)
2) A little bit of play time for AJ in his new play center by Oribel
3) Heading out the door with a bag of snacks for the car ofcourse.
The question is… are they fighting here or are they playing?! you decide, I wont spoil it with the truth! Lol
4) A little joy ride while the other 2 take a nap.
5) The face of a little girl who is V excited to play at her favorite play spot, The green Chataeu
6) We spent a few hours at this sweet spot and they were enjoying every moment.
Even AJ was lovin’ it!
Then theres Emberleigh and her love for the slides
7) After a few hours of playing— Let’s be honest, mama was tired. soooo I busted out the pads at home. I needed some down time!
8) Ended the day kissing on this guy before his nap time and our night routine.
I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
Comment on PostI have been on a hunt trying to figure out all the realistic ways that can help me reduce stress and I think that I’ve come up with my top 3 that I’ve found helpful thus far. Seeing that I am now in my 3rd trimester and things can be a bit more stressful to manage just because of all the extra weight I’m carrying and tack on the heat to that. Lord Jesus help me… this is one of the top things I’m trying to focus on.
Here are my 3 Ways To Reduce Stress:
I know that everyone has their own ways of relieving stress OR maybe you’re still on that journey of still trying to figure it out like I am. I’d love for you to share in the comments your strategies and/or areas of your life that could use A bit of tweaking! Let’s be a community of people who build one another up and strive to live a whole lot more stress free!!
Comment on Post
Ever since I was a little girl my favorite car has been Volvo. I remember my parents getting the Volvo S70 when I was around 7-8 years old after having gone through a terrible accident that totaled our previous car. As little girl, I remember my number one feeling of why I loved that car so much was because of how safe and secure I felt. That will forever be engrained in my mind until this day! It has always been and will continue to be one of my favorite cars!
I know what you’re thinking.. This is so random, Ashleigh.. Why are you telling me about Volvo?! Don’t worry, I won’t leave you high and dry! I am about to list my top 5 reasons why I believe ALL moms need a Volvo. When I’m done, I’m almost certain you will want to head on over to our friends at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica and purchase this family dream car! Have I got your full attention yet?! Good!!!
Recently, I had the pleasure of driving a brand new 2018 Volvo XC60 T6 Inscription courtesy of Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Let me tell you my friends… It did not disappoint and all of my 8 yr old sweet memories of the Volvo S70 came flooding to the forefront of my mind as I was once again reminded why I love this beautiful, insanely safe car! So without further ado let me share with you why all moms need a Volvo.
‘Top 5 reasons Why All Moms Need A Volvo’
SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!!!!
I mean, I cannot express enough how crazy safe these cars are! You certainly don’t need someone to tell you how safe they are because you can actually feel it the moment you get in the car and close the door. The best way to describe it is like when you have a comfort blanket on and instantly you feel like all is right in the world. The doors are soft closing yet strong like you know that you are about to be driving a tank on the road. Also, Here is a fun fact: Did you know that Volvo were the ones that came up with the 3 point harness seatbelt?! They felt it was so important and such a vital part of safety that they opened up their patent & shared the design allowing other car manufacturers to benefit from their creation because they believe that safety is of utmost importance. Crazy right?! When we put the girls car seats in the backseat, I felt like they were more secure into the car than they are in our Honda! Even Haven was loving the level of comfort that the car itself was bringing and that is saying something HUGE seeing as she is only 3 1/2. I like to believe that our children remember things like that! One of my other favorite things about this car is the fact that the numerical speedometer shows up in the window so that you never have to really look down at your actual speedometer to know what speed you’re going! Some may put this in the “Special Features” category but I am putting it in the Safety category because I never have to take my eyes off of the road. I loved seeing my speed in the window and would repeatedly say in my mind “Why don’t ALL cars have this?!”. It also will show you in the same window what the speed limit is on every street you are driving on as well as alert you when you are at a cross walk, School zone, driving to close to the person next to you, driving a certain amount over the speed limit… You guys, This “Safety feature” for me was EVERYTHING!!!
FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FEATURES
Lets be honest… We all know that the FIRST thing we think of when deciding on a new car is how awesome the center column of the car is and all the features, right? Well, The Volvo XC60 has quite a stand out from other cars I’ve seen. As a mother and frankly just not the most tech savvy person I’ve ever met, the functionality of all all the buttons and gadgets in a car have got to be easy to use because I don’t have time to fool around with those little things when I’m trying to drive, so I love that the features in this car are equivalent to using your iPhone. Its so straight forward: Swipe right, swipe left, apps easily accessible with just with the touch of your finger, etc. One of my favorite features was that it has apple car play in the car! Anything that allows me to access my most used and important apps on my phone on the road has got 2 thumbs up in my book! The car gives you an option to heat up the seats & steering wheel on cold days, adjust how much you want the seat to hug your body and get this… It even gives you an option in BOTH the driver & passenger seats to give a massage (What?!) Tell me that is not every moms dream! You better believe I put that baby to good use during our time together. Another feature I found to be helpful was the back up camera with the navigating tire lines & alerts when your too close to an object . Living in LA there are a lot of tight spots you’re parking in, lots of parallel parking and if I’m being honest… just some really insane drivers, so this feature was really great to have!
INTERNAL SPACE
When you have kids and you’re in the market for a car to fit your lifestyle, your likely going to search for the most spacious car you can find, right? Seeing as we are currently van drivers and have ample space in our car I was fully expecting to feel a bit packed into this car. I was definitely wrong!! Never once did I feel like we were cramped inside! As a matter of fact it makes you feel the opposite. You feel like you have your own space for each passenger in the car, even my girls in the back seat! The trunk is extremely spacious as well leaving more than enough room for: Stroller, groceries and all the other gadgets and things that us moms feel the need to have in the trunks of our cars. Needless to say, Space is not an issue with the Volvo XC60.
EASY HANDLING OF THE CAR
Nothing bugs me more than a car that is hard to steer, am I alone?! It may sound like since the car is so strong and I’ve described it as being a tank, that it would be hard to steer and have a friction in the steering wheel.. WRONG! Its actually the exact opposite! I decided to make this one of my main top reasons why moms need a Volvo because I feel like anything that makes your life easier and more enjoyable with the amount of time that we spend in our cars with kids is worth highlighting. When you pair the safety features with the ease of driving and handling the car, you have gold my friends! Like you literally just hit the jackpot in cars. I thought I had it made in my Honda Odyssey until my hands got on that Volvo XC60.. Mind. BLOWN! I loved driving through the Los Angeles hills because it almost created a different friction in the steering wheel with different whips and turns just out of safety but never once gave me the feeling of being out of control. It always gave me the feeling of ease and (again) safety.
COMPANY HONESTY
Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to support companies and business’ who value honesty and support of people above all else. Any company that can show those things without having to overly emphasize that those are their values has my full backing and support! With that being said, I have 100% seen those qualities in Volvo and Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Who doesn’t want to purchase from someone who is honest, passionate, knowledgable and supportive about their product?! When I learned about the released patent of the 3 part harness and that one of their mottos at Volvo is that they are more concerned of the safety of the people than the money… Guys, That says a TON about a company! That is a company I want to stand behind and have their product. You don’t see many (if any) other companies doing the same! They are vocal about the fact that they are more about the quality of the car than upgrading it to a new style every few years. They are confident in the cars that they produce so much so that they don’t feel the need to have to keep upgrading them. When it comes down to it, they really are the safest cars on the road and fly under the radar as a discrete luxury vehicle.
Have I got you at the edge of your seat because you want to run to the Volvo dealership?! Good, You should!! 🙂 Every family needs a safe car and I truly believe with all of my heart that Volvo should be your #1 top choice. Thank you Volvo Cars of Santa Monica for giving me the full Volvo XC60 Inscription experience, You guys are the best!
PS. I have to give a HUGE shout out to one of the salesman, Christopher White over at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable people and knows all the ins and outs of volvo. The amount of information he was sharing with us both about the company and also the car I was driving was astonishing. Yet again, Passion was shinning through and not in an overbearing way but rather an inspiring & excited for what your about to experience type of way. You rock Christopher!
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I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
Comment on PostYou know those days when there seems to be more demand and your energy just doesn’t seem to match?! That was me yesterday! At the end of the night though, when all the kids were down for the count, I was looking back at the photos I had snapped of the day— as exhausted as I was I thought to myself.. “They had SO much fun today!!”. We spent hours playing, got a nap in (well 2 of them did anyways) they had a bit of screen time, played again and then went to bed. Such a great day! Enjoy our daily moments.
1) It all started with the excitement for a morning waffle! (FYI- we tried a new brand of waffles made with Cassava flour by a brand called Kitchfix. They were surpringly really good! Kind of like a smaller Belgian waffle consistency)
2) A little bit of play time for AJ in his new play center by Oribel
3) Heading out the door with a bag of snacks for the car ofcourse.
The question is… are they fighting here or are they playing?! you decide, I wont spoil it with the truth! Lol
4) A little joy ride while the other 2 take a nap.
5) The face of a little girl who is V excited to play at her favorite play spot, The green Chataeu
6) We spent a few hours at this sweet spot and they were enjoying every moment.
Even AJ was lovin’ it!
Then theres Emberleigh and her love for the slides
7) After a few hours of playing— Let’s be honest, mama was tired. soooo I busted out the pads at home. I needed some down time!
8) Ended the day kissing on this guy before his nap time and our night routine.
I have been on a hunt trying to figure out all the realistic ways that can help me reduce stress and I think that I’ve come up with my top 3 that I’ve found helpful thus far. Seeing that I am now in my 3rd trimester and things can be a bit more stressful to manage just because of all the extra weight I’m carrying and tack on the heat to that. Lord Jesus help me… this is one of the top things I’m trying to focus on.
Here are my 3 Ways To Reduce Stress:
I know that everyone has their own ways of relieving stress OR maybe you’re still on that journey of still trying to figure it out like I am. I’d love for you to share in the comments your strategies and/or areas of your life that could use A bit of tweaking! Let’s be a community of people who build one another up and strive to live a whole lot more stress free!!
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I have been on a hunt trying to figure out all the realistic ways that can help me reduce stress and I think that I’ve come up with my top 3 that I’ve found helpful thus far. Seeing that I am now in my 3rd trimester and things can be a bit more stressful to manage just because of all the extra weight I’m carrying and tack on the heat to that. Lord Jesus help me… this is one of the top things I’m trying to focus on.
Here are my 3 Ways To Reduce Stress:
I know that everyone has their own ways of relieving stress OR maybe you’re still on that journey of still trying to figure it out like I am. I’d love for you to share in the comments your strategies and/or areas of your life that could use A bit of tweaking! Let’s be a community of people who build one another up and strive to live a whole lot more stress free!!
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Let’s get real… Being a stay at home mom isn’t always cupcakes & rainbows, Arts & Crafts, I just hang with my kids all day amazingness. The truth is, at least for me, The “Stay At Home Mom Blues” is a thing! As amazing as it is being a stay at home mom, it’s quite possibly one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had + also one of the most emotionally exhausting! Of course we could talk about all of the fun + amazing things that staying at home with your littles brings but then we wouldn’t be truthful to the Stay At Home Mom Blues that we also face and how we can conquer them, right?! By no means do I have it all down! In fact, I believe that as our girls get older and the more children we have I’m constantly having to change things around, think differently and give myself grace in different areas.
So here are my top 6 ways to overcome the Stay At Home Mom Blues:
I hope that these ‘Top 6 ways to overcome the Stay At Home Mom Blues’ help you and maybe puts some extra tools in your mommy needs tool belt! As always, please feel free to leave some comments + share ideas of what helps you overcome the stay at home mom blues! We always love to hear from our Sparrow’s Apple community!
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You know those days when there seems to be more demand and your energy just doesn’t seem to match?! That was me yesterday! At the end of the night though, when all the kids were down for the count, I was looking back at the photos I had snapped of the day— as exhausted as I was I thought to myself.. “They had SO much fun today!!”. We spent hours playing, got a nap in (well 2 of them did anyways) they had a bit of screen time, played again and then went to bed. Such a great day! Enjoy our daily moments.
1) It all started with the excitement for a morning waffle! (FYI- we tried a new brand of waffles made with Cassava flour by a brand called Kitchfix. They were surpringly really good! Kind of like a smaller Belgian waffle consistency)
2) A little bit of play time for AJ in his new play center by Oribel
3) Heading out the door with a bag of snacks for the car ofcourse.
The question is… are they fighting here or are they playing?! you decide, I wont spoil it with the truth! Lol
4) A little joy ride while the other 2 take a nap.
5) The face of a little girl who is V excited to play at her favorite play spot, The green Chataeu
6) We spent a few hours at this sweet spot and they were enjoying every moment.
Even AJ was lovin’ it!
Then theres Emberleigh and her love for the slides
7) After a few hours of playing— Let’s be honest, mama was tired. soooo I busted out the pads at home. I needed some down time!
8) Ended the day kissing on this guy before his nap time and our night routine.
Ever since I was a little girl my favorite car has been Volvo. I remember my parents getting the Volvo S70 when I was around 7-8 years old after having gone through a terrible accident that totaled our previous car. As little girl, I remember my number one feeling of why I loved that car so much was because of how safe and secure I felt. That will forever be engrained in my mind until this day! It has always been and will continue to be one of my favorite cars!
I know what you’re thinking.. This is so random, Ashleigh.. Why are you telling me about Volvo?! Don’t worry, I won’t leave you high and dry! I am about to list my top 5 reasons why I believe ALL moms need a Volvo. When I’m done, I’m almost certain you will want to head on over to our friends at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica and purchase this family dream car! Have I got your full attention yet?! Good!!!
Recently, I had the pleasure of driving a brand new 2018 Volvo XC60 T6 Inscription courtesy of Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Let me tell you my friends… It did not disappoint and all of my 8 yr old sweet memories of the Volvo S70 came flooding to the forefront of my mind as I was once again reminded why I love this beautiful, insanely safe car! So without further ado let me share with you why all moms need a Volvo.
‘Top 5 reasons Why All Moms Need A Volvo’
SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!!!!
I mean, I cannot express enough how crazy safe these cars are! You certainly don’t need someone to tell you how safe they are because you can actually feel it the moment you get in the car and close the door. The best way to describe it is like when you have a comfort blanket on and instantly you feel like all is right in the world. The doors are soft closing yet strong like you know that you are about to be driving a tank on the road. Also, Here is a fun fact: Did you know that Volvo were the ones that came up with the 3 point harness seatbelt?! They felt it was so important and such a vital part of safety that they opened up their patent & shared the design allowing other car manufacturers to benefit from their creation because they believe that safety is of utmost importance. Crazy right?! When we put the girls car seats in the backseat, I felt like they were more secure into the car than they are in our Honda! Even Haven was loving the level of comfort that the car itself was bringing and that is saying something HUGE seeing as she is only 3 1/2. I like to believe that our children remember things like that! One of my other favorite things about this car is the fact that the numerical speedometer shows up in the window so that you never have to really look down at your actual speedometer to know what speed you’re going! Some may put this in the “Special Features” category but I am putting it in the Safety category because I never have to take my eyes off of the road. I loved seeing my speed in the window and would repeatedly say in my mind “Why don’t ALL cars have this?!”. It also will show you in the same window what the speed limit is on every street you are driving on as well as alert you when you are at a cross walk, School zone, driving to close to the person next to you, driving a certain amount over the speed limit… You guys, This “Safety feature” for me was EVERYTHING!!!
FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FEATURES
Lets be honest… We all know that the FIRST thing we think of when deciding on a new car is how awesome the center column of the car is and all the features, right? Well, The Volvo XC60 has quite a stand out from other cars I’ve seen. As a mother and frankly just not the most tech savvy person I’ve ever met, the functionality of all all the buttons and gadgets in a car have got to be easy to use because I don’t have time to fool around with those little things when I’m trying to drive, so I love that the features in this car are equivalent to using your iPhone. Its so straight forward: Swipe right, swipe left, apps easily accessible with just with the touch of your finger, etc. One of my favorite features was that it has apple car play in the car! Anything that allows me to access my most used and important apps on my phone on the road has got 2 thumbs up in my book! The car gives you an option to heat up the seats & steering wheel on cold days, adjust how much you want the seat to hug your body and get this… It even gives you an option in BOTH the driver & passenger seats to give a massage (What?!) Tell me that is not every moms dream! You better believe I put that baby to good use during our time together. Another feature I found to be helpful was the back up camera with the navigating tire lines & alerts when your too close to an object . Living in LA there are a lot of tight spots you’re parking in, lots of parallel parking and if I’m being honest… just some really insane drivers, so this feature was really great to have!
INTERNAL SPACE
When you have kids and you’re in the market for a car to fit your lifestyle, your likely going to search for the most spacious car you can find, right? Seeing as we are currently van drivers and have ample space in our car I was fully expecting to feel a bit packed into this car. I was definitely wrong!! Never once did I feel like we were cramped inside! As a matter of fact it makes you feel the opposite. You feel like you have your own space for each passenger in the car, even my girls in the back seat! The trunk is extremely spacious as well leaving more than enough room for: Stroller, groceries and all the other gadgets and things that us moms feel the need to have in the trunks of our cars. Needless to say, Space is not an issue with the Volvo XC60.
EASY HANDLING OF THE CAR
Nothing bugs me more than a car that is hard to steer, am I alone?! It may sound like since the car is so strong and I’ve described it as being a tank, that it would be hard to steer and have a friction in the steering wheel.. WRONG! Its actually the exact opposite! I decided to make this one of my main top reasons why moms need a Volvo because I feel like anything that makes your life easier and more enjoyable with the amount of time that we spend in our cars with kids is worth highlighting. When you pair the safety features with the ease of driving and handling the car, you have gold my friends! Like you literally just hit the jackpot in cars. I thought I had it made in my Honda Odyssey until my hands got on that Volvo XC60.. Mind. BLOWN! I loved driving through the Los Angeles hills because it almost created a different friction in the steering wheel with different whips and turns just out of safety but never once gave me the feeling of being out of control. It always gave me the feeling of ease and (again) safety.
COMPANY HONESTY
Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to support companies and business’ who value honesty and support of people above all else. Any company that can show those things without having to overly emphasize that those are their values has my full backing and support! With that being said, I have 100% seen those qualities in Volvo and Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Who doesn’t want to purchase from someone who is honest, passionate, knowledgable and supportive about their product?! When I learned about the released patent of the 3 part harness and that one of their mottos at Volvo is that they are more concerned of the safety of the people than the money… Guys, That says a TON about a company! That is a company I want to stand behind and have their product. You don’t see many (if any) other companies doing the same! They are vocal about the fact that they are more about the quality of the car than upgrading it to a new style every few years. They are confident in the cars that they produce so much so that they don’t feel the need to have to keep upgrading them. When it comes down to it, they really are the safest cars on the road and fly under the radar as a discrete luxury vehicle.
Have I got you at the edge of your seat because you want to run to the Volvo dealership?! Good, You should!! 🙂 Every family needs a safe car and I truly believe with all of my heart that Volvo should be your #1 top choice. Thank you Volvo Cars of Santa Monica for giving me the full Volvo XC60 Inscription experience, You guys are the best!
PS. I have to give a HUGE shout out to one of the salesman, Christopher White over at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable people and knows all the ins and outs of volvo. The amount of information he was sharing with us both about the company and also the car I was driving was astonishing. Yet again, Passion was shinning through and not in an overbearing way but rather an inspiring & excited for what your about to experience type of way. You rock Christopher!
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Ever since I was a little girl my favorite car has been Volvo. I remember my parents getting the Volvo S70 when I was around 7-8 years old after having gone through a terrible accident that totaled our previous car. As little girl, I remember my number one feeling of why I loved that car so much was because of how safe and secure I felt. That will forever be engrained in my mind until this day! It has always been and will continue to be one of my favorite cars!
I know what you’re thinking.. This is so random, Ashleigh.. Why are you telling me about Volvo?! Don’t worry, I won’t leave you high and dry! I am about to list my top 5 reasons why I believe ALL moms need a Volvo. When I’m done, I’m almost certain you will want to head on over to our friends at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica and purchase this family dream car! Have I got your full attention yet?! Good!!!
Recently, I had the pleasure of driving a brand new 2018 Volvo XC60 T6 Inscription courtesy of Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Let me tell you my friends… It did not disappoint and all of my 8 yr old sweet memories of the Volvo S70 came flooding to the forefront of my mind as I was once again reminded why I love this beautiful, insanely safe car! So without further ado let me share with you why all moms need a Volvo.
‘Top 5 reasons Why All Moms Need A Volvo’
SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!!!!!
I mean, I cannot express enough how crazy safe these cars are! You certainly don’t need someone to tell you how safe they are because you can actually feel it the moment you get in the car and close the door. The best way to describe it is like when you have a comfort blanket on and instantly you feel like all is right in the world. The doors are soft closing yet strong like you know that you are about to be driving a tank on the road. Also, Here is a fun fact: Did you know that Volvo were the ones that came up with the 3 point harness seatbelt?! They felt it was so important and such a vital part of safety that they opened up their patent & shared the design allowing other car manufacturers to benefit from their creation because they believe that safety is of utmost importance. Crazy right?! When we put the girls car seats in the backseat, I felt like they were more secure into the car than they are in our Honda! Even Haven was loving the level of comfort that the car itself was bringing and that is saying something HUGE seeing as she is only 3 1/2. I like to believe that our children remember things like that! One of my other favorite things about this car is the fact that the numerical speedometer shows up in the window so that you never have to really look down at your actual speedometer to know what speed you’re going! Some may put this in the “Special Features” category but I am putting it in the Safety category because I never have to take my eyes off of the road. I loved seeing my speed in the window and would repeatedly say in my mind “Why don’t ALL cars have this?!”. It also will show you in the same window what the speed limit is on every street you are driving on as well as alert you when you are at a cross walk, School zone, driving to close to the person next to you, driving a certain amount over the speed limit… You guys, This “Safety feature” for me was EVERYTHING!!!
FUNCTIONALITY OF THE FEATURES
Lets be honest… We all know that the FIRST thing we think of when deciding on a new car is how awesome the center column of the car is and all the features, right? Well, The Volvo XC60 has quite a stand out from other cars I’ve seen. As a mother and frankly just not the most tech savvy person I’ve ever met, the functionality of all all the buttons and gadgets in a car have got to be easy to use because I don’t have time to fool around with those little things when I’m trying to drive, so I love that the features in this car are equivalent to using your iPhone. Its so straight forward: Swipe right, swipe left, apps easily accessible with just with the touch of your finger, etc. One of my favorite features was that it has apple car play in the car! Anything that allows me to access my most used and important apps on my phone on the road has got 2 thumbs up in my book! The car gives you an option to heat up the seats & steering wheel on cold days, adjust how much you want the seat to hug your body and get this… It even gives you an option in BOTH the driver & passenger seats to give a massage (What?!) Tell me that is not every moms dream! You better believe I put that baby to good use during our time together. Another feature I found to be helpful was the back up camera with the navigating tire lines & alerts when your too close to an object . Living in LA there are a lot of tight spots you’re parking in, lots of parallel parking and if I’m being honest… just some really insane drivers, so this feature was really great to have!
INTERNAL SPACE
When you have kids and you’re in the market for a car to fit your lifestyle, your likely going to search for the most spacious car you can find, right? Seeing as we are currently van drivers and have ample space in our car I was fully expecting to feel a bit packed into this car. I was definitely wrong!! Never once did I feel like we were cramped inside! As a matter of fact it makes you feel the opposite. You feel like you have your own space for each passenger in the car, even my girls in the back seat! The trunk is extremely spacious as well leaving more than enough room for: Stroller, groceries and all the other gadgets and things that us moms feel the need to have in the trunks of our cars. Needless to say, Space is not an issue with the Volvo XC60.
EASY HANDLING OF THE CAR
Nothing bugs me more than a car that is hard to steer, am I alone?! It may sound like since the car is so strong and I’ve described it as being a tank, that it would be hard to steer and have a friction in the steering wheel.. WRONG! Its actually the exact opposite! I decided to make this one of my main top reasons why moms need a Volvo because I feel like anything that makes your life easier and more enjoyable with the amount of time that we spend in our cars with kids is worth highlighting. When you pair the safety features with the ease of driving and handling the car, you have gold my friends! Like you literally just hit the jackpot in cars. I thought I had it made in my Honda Odyssey until my hands got on that Volvo XC60.. Mind. BLOWN! I loved driving through the Los Angeles hills because it almost created a different friction in the steering wheel with different whips and turns just out of safety but never once gave me the feeling of being out of control. It always gave me the feeling of ease and (again) safety.
COMPANY HONESTY
Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to support companies and business’ who value honesty and support of people above all else. Any company that can show those things without having to overly emphasize that those are their values has my full backing and support! With that being said, I have 100% seen those qualities in Volvo and Volvo Cars of Santa Monica! Who doesn’t want to purchase from someone who is honest, passionate, knowledgable and supportive about their product?! When I learned about the released patent of the 3 part harness and that one of their mottos at Volvo is that they are more concerned of the safety of the people than the money… Guys, That says a TON about a company! That is a company I want to stand behind and have their product. You don’t see many (if any) other companies doing the same! They are vocal about the fact that they are more about the quality of the car than upgrading it to a new style every few years. They are confident in the cars that they produce so much so that they don’t feel the need to have to keep upgrading them. When it comes down to it, they really are the safest cars on the road and fly under the radar as a discrete luxury vehicle.
Have I got you at the edge of your seat because you want to run to the Volvo dealership?! Good, You should!! 🙂 Every family needs a safe car and I truly believe with all of my heart that Volvo should be your #1 top choice. Thank you Volvo Cars of Santa Monica for giving me the full Volvo XC60 Inscription experience, You guys are the best!
PS. I have to give a HUGE shout out to one of the salesman, Christopher White over at Volvo Cars of Santa Monica. He is probably one of the most knowledgeable people and knows all the ins and outs of volvo. The amount of information he was sharing with us both about the company and also the car I was driving was astonishing. Yet again, Passion was shinning through and not in an overbearing way but rather an inspiring & excited for what your about to experience type of way. You rock Christopher!
Comment on Post
I’m about to enter you into my new road to a basic wardrobe— are you ready? Capsule clothing is all the rage right now it feels like. I’m not sure that I’ve ever heard the word capsule so much in my life until now! It’s easy to think of a capsule wardrobe as minimalism, which to some degree it could definitely be the case but not all the time! I for one am by no means a minimalist nor a hoarder— So what’s the name for the the person who is in between those two? It’s almost like you’re the ‘middle class’ of society but in a fashion sense.
I’m not going to lie.. Im no Rachel Zoe when it comes to fashion, but what I do know is that I’ve always loved it and will never turn down an opportunity to go shopping. Who DOESN’T like to shop?! Lol
After becoming a mom I struggled HARD with my closet. Between weight fluctuations, hormonal changes and just straight up not taking time out for myself, I fell into this pit of not knowing what I liked anymore. Has that happended to any one else?! its awful.. That’s when you know that you need to start acting on some major self care, right? I’m happy to report that I am WAY past that stage and now moving towards the stage of capsulizing my wardrobe. Having things in my closet that (as Marie Kondo put it) bring me JOY! Right now I’m focusing on having all of the basics and then build the rest from there.
Welcome to my Road to a Basic Wardrobe.
Talking about basics- I recently received this adorable white button down tie top from PinkBlush and I love it! It’s a basic that can be worn a couple different ways and it pairs really well with, well… almost everything! It’s just the piece I needed to add to my capsule.
Something that I love about any basic clothing is that you can spice it up and make it fun & sexy or you can just fly under the radar as the cute & simple woman with just a hand of shoes and/or accessories. Here, I paired the tie top with my favorite high waisted jeans to hide the mom pooch a bit and leapord print shoes. I like to think I met somewhere in between sexy and simple just because I put on the sassy red lip!
For size reference on this Tie top from PinkBlush: I am wearing a small. It’s supposed to be more of a loose fitting top so if you like more of a flowy, way oversized look than I would size up.
This post is sponsored by PinkBlush
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