LOOK. AT THESE. EASTER BUNNIES.
I can’t even stand it.
Bunnies In The Grass
Latest Posts
I Made A Solar Fountain (For $30)
I am literally bouncing up and down in my chair right now because I'm scrolling through the list of half-finished post drafts sitting on my Wordpress dashboard, and I cannot wait to show you all the cool stuff I've been up to lately. In the past three weeks, I have redone the exterior of my entire house. I have made over my kitchen. I have planted all the plants, have learned how to do something called a German Smear (omg just wait until you see it), and have identified the cutest and least crazily priced drawer pulls a person can find. And, oh yes:
I HAVE CREATED A FOUNTAIN.
FROM SCRATCH.
Spring Cleaning: Dog Edition
Lucy is way more welcome on our bed these days.
I have to be honest: I’m still emotionally recuperating from The Great Flea Poop Incident. (You know, the one that went on for TWO MONTHS.) I have washed every single piece of fabric in our house more times than fabric should probably be washed in a lifetime. I have vacuumed every inch of our house using every weird little specialty attachment-thing ever created, and have spent oh, so much money at Petco. I have awoken each morning nevertheless certain that the fleas have returned and are presently eating my neck, at which point I immediately flip over to scour the sheets for any sign of flea poop, no matter how miniscule.
It appears that the crisis has passed. And so in celebration of the fact that I once again love my dogs (kidding, sort of) – and because I’m in the midst of spring cleaning - I decided to give their eating and sleeping areas an extra-special cleaning with Clorox® Regular-Bleach. It cleans, sanitizes and disinfects. And! Did you know it kills parvovirus? (If you’ve never heard of parvovirus, it’s a highly contagious doggy disease that I really don’t want to risk.)
Where My Earmuffs At?
It's happening: that thing that I promised myself wouldn't happen. That thing I specifically wrote about in the context of encouraging other people not to let it happen to them.
I'm getting sick and tired of talking about (and thinking about) politics. And it's making me want to put my earmuffs back on. Or bury my head in the sand. Pick an "ignorance is bliss" analogy; any one'll do.
The problem isn't that I'm "too upset," actually - it's that all this upsetness is starting to make me feel...numb. And the numbness is what freaks me out. Each and every day a new atrocity pops up in my news feed that makes me feel like I'm living in an alternate reality, or maybe still asleep. I know this sounds insane. I'm serious. I mentioned this odd little development to my therapist, and you know what she said? "Oh, yeah, that's dissociation. Super common. It's your brain's way of protecting you."
Those Oft-Neglected Spots
Every once in awhile, it happens: my eyes land upon a spot in my house that for whatever reason I’ve never noticed before, and I am horrified.
Let me tell you a very disgusting story (sorry).
Over the past few months, Lucy has developed a habit of sleeping in my closet. And not just “in my closet”: in one of the storage boxes lined up along the floor of my closet, which hold things like out-of-season sweaters and accessories I rarely use and such. It never really bothered me, because she weighs six pounds and always seems very cute and peaceful when she’s all curled up on top of a pile of my clothing.
I Got My Face Lasered. Here’s How It Went.
A few weeks ago, if you remember, I wrote about how I tried a microdermabrasion treatment - not because I wanted to, exactly, but rather because I had discussed using a BBL laser treatment on the rosacea on my cheeks (which you may not have noticed, since I wear makeup to cover it, but trust me, it's there - and it's RED). Except the aesthetician had informed me that I had to do microdermabrasion first (to treat the little case of hormone-related adult acne I've recently developed, WHEE). 3 weeks later, my skin was (relatively) chilled-out, and I went in for the BBL treatment in hopes of combating the underlying problem.
I've never done anything laser-related before and was a little nervous - so of course I took my camera with me into the treatment room. Of course. (And please don't watch this video if you typically get freaked out by stuff like this; the "after" picture isn't especially lovely.)
Three-Ingredient Bananacakes
omg these are delicious.
How have I never heard of bananacakes before?! They're like pancakes, except you get to skip 90% of the steps involved in making pancakes. And since they have zero added sugar and flour and everything else, I have to assume they're...better for you? ...Sort of?
Anyway, I was at my friend Elise's house for brunch the other day and she whipped up some of these using just eggs and mashed-up banana (with a touch of cinnamon), and they are good. Slightly denser than pancakes - and you definitely have to be into banana-flavored things, but who isn't? - and such a great last-minute what-do-I-make-for-breakfast solution (plus a fun way to use up your about-to-go-brown bananas; you can always make them now and freeze them for the weekend).
The Springtime Bed
Floral Embroidered Bedding Set
Kendrick and I are terribly, horribly mismatched when it comes to our internal thermostats. He is literally always freezing and constantly accusing me of stealing his covers, which cannot possibly be true because when I sleep I transform into a human furnace. Nobody is allowed to touch me, because I will sweat myself into a puddle, and "nobody" includes covers other than the ones that are absolutely required in order to prevent the monster under the bed from touching my feet.
Despite the fact that bedding is a contentious issue in my house, it's still one of my favorite things to shop for: it just instantly transforms your space. If you're in the market for some pretty new bedding to make you feel all airy and fresh and springy, I put a rundown of some current faves below.
Say Yes
Here is a thing that I do, and wish I didn’t: So often – most days, in fact – I stick to the plan. Once I pick my kids up from school I have an idea of what our afternoon is “supposed” to look like, and I’ll march us through the schedule one checkmark at a time, lest something get forgotten or left undone. My kids will ask whether we can do something I hadn’t even thought of – something that would shoot the day off in a completely different direction - and my kneejerk reaction will be to say no, because come on, guys – we have things to do.
Except…do we, really? It’ll be mid-afternoon, and I’ll be sweeping the floor or making a grocery list or trying to fix the latest thing that has broken, and my kids will rush at me, wanting to go on a bike ride, and I’ll say: “I can’t, guys.”
Sometimes, of course, the answer is “No, Mommy can’t because Mommy’s computer is broken and she has been waiting on hold for three hours to locate an actual human being who will help her fix it and Mommy may lose her mind if she hangs up now” (or even “No, Mommy needs to spend a few minutes staring at her Instagram feed because she needs a mental break from life”; that’s totally legit, too)…but other times? I think you put down the phone or the computer or the mop or the to-do list and just say “yes.” Not just for the kids; for yourself.
We Need To Talk
OK, we need to talk about a few things. They have nothing whatsoever to do with each other, but all are, I think, pretty crucial.
