I almost forgot to post these pictures. The cherry blossoms being in bloom was so short lived that we went back the second weekend they were in their prime state and shot this cute summer jumpsuit (you know I love a jumpsuit) that I found at Forever 21. We also shot some cute mother daughter pictures for a friend of ours too while there.
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned these shoes and their amazingness before but they are great dupes for the Chanel classics but these are only $150. They are also ridiculously comfortable!
Happy Monday! Hopefully I'll be getting a bunch of outfit up and posted this week because I am getting behind!
Bed is my bestie! I love my bed, my beautiful king-sized bed. Always have. But now I dream of it. Count down the hours and minutes 'til I get to dive in there and close my eyes. It's my own little slice of heaven. That is, until the alarm goes off at 5 AM. Ugh.
Have good friends who get it and get you. Don't waste your time on anyone who doesn't think you are awesome, wonderful, smart and special and you think the same of them. I love my friends and think they are pretty much the coolest people around and I'm lucky to have so many women I look up to and can count on.
Being a working mom is hard. Like, really hard. I feel like I hit the ground running for hours even before the baby is awake and then I'm go-go-go all day until well after she goes to bed. And moms who teach little children is like next-level momming, in my opinion. You leave your own kid to go care for 30 other kids, and then go back and get your kid. It's a whole day of various children in need of your constant guidance and attention. It sucks you emotionally dry in a way I can't explain. Luckily, I love being a teacher or I would find myself a job where I got to sit down for more than two minutes at a time.
Comfort takes on a whole new meaning. There are sweatpants, and then there are your comfy pants. You know what I mean? The ones you would pick over all the others. They may even be really ugly (I know mine are) but sometimes you need to take it up a notch to mega comfort when your days are nonstop movement, and you want to come home and put on your best and coziest. I am kind of a snob about my lounge wear this year and as you may have seen on my Insta stories, adult onesies are my jam. Two pieces that topped this list this year are these two variations of the same thermal shirt, crew neck and cowl. I may even be wearing one right now. Shout-out to my Ugg slippers that are ugly as eff but so comfy I sometimes accidentally wear them out in public.
I have enough stuff. This is one I have been working on and plan to continue working on. We really want Athena to not grow up in a house full of clutter so we do a really good job of limiting her toys and the amount of new stuff we bring in. I want to work on this for myself too. I am at a point where I kind of have all the things that I really need, so as for new gadgets, furniture and even clothes, it feels unnecessary. I am trying to be really thoughtful of any more clothing purchases I make. It does make blogging a little harder because I won't have a bunch of new clothes to show you but when you do see me buy/rave about something, you know it's something I really value. Like this sweater jumpsuit I'm wearing in the post that I literally wore out of the package!
On that same note, THANK YOU to everyone who reached out to me this year about appreciating how real and honest I set out to be. I really do value my integrity as a blogger and will never sell you on something just to make money. I love that you guys trust my recommendations because you see me using the things I recommend day in and day out and know I actually stand behind them. I love this space and I'm so happy you all come back for more, even if it takes me a month and a half to put up a new blog post. Thanks for being real right along side me!
Wow! I swear, every time I post pictures of Athena she looks so little! Even if they aren't from long ago. She needs to slow down with this growing up thing. I'm so not ready.
Ok. So here we are in a super cute little spot in our new hood. People always ask me what it was like moving away from big city life in Chicago to Salt Lake. Technically I didn't really leave city life all together. In fact, ask most people who live in Utah, they would consider where I live to be the bustling city. Obviously to me it's way different because Its not the same as living a few blocks from the Sears (yes, I will always call it that) Tower anymore and not much can compare to that. But to me this new city life is pretty sweet!
So I'm going to share with you my top 3 reasons why I love my new city life.
1. A back yard. Guys! I would never have thought this girl who lived in a concrete jungle for 15 years, who couldn't even identify a square of grass within blocks back near my old apartment, would love a backyard so much. I love having a place to sit outside and hang out with Athena. She loves being outside and I love getting some sun on our lounge chairs. Andrew loves to grill out too and we no longer have to drive to the lakefront, pay to park, walk a few blocks with all our stuff just to grill a meal. It was such a task. Oh, and did I mention we have a pool in our yard? I don't mean to brag, but it's about a foot deep and made of pink plastic...it's Athena's baby pool. But you better believe I get in with her! Also I have a garden. I haven't grown anything successfully yet but I sure am going to keep on trying!
2. A driveway. Sure, our driveway is on an insane incline since we essentially live on the foothill of a mountain but holy cow, is it nice to drive up to our door and not have to pay to park. People here think I'm crazy when I tell them we used to have to pay $250 a month to park half a block and across the street from our apartment and that was actually a great deal for that neighborhood. Grocery shopping is so much easier too when I don't have debate what I can buy because I have to carry it home. I just buy what we need and don't think twice. What a concept!
3. It's safe. Any place has the potential to be unsafe but for the most part Salt Lake feels pretty crime free. I'm not constantly worried about someone breaking into my car... and sleeping in it overnight (yes, that happened in Chicago) or holing onto my purse with a death grip when I walk on the streets. I don't even worry about turning my wedding rings around in public places. Knock on wood, none of this will ever be a problem here, but those were legitimate daily fears I had in Chicago and I'm slowly loosening my grip on my old reality and settling into this new one.
With that it also makes living here an excellent place to have children and raise a family. There hasn't been a single place I can think of I was afraid to take Athena or part of town I worried about driving her through. That peace of mind is really priceless.
There is a ton more I love about our new life out West, but these have proved to be the most stark contrasts thus far. Maybe I sound like a Chicago hater now but what i really think it is is that I'm a proponent for change. Especially ones you didn't know you needed till you do them.
So what about you? Did you leave city life? Are you considering it? What is your motivation or feelings about it. If you did leave, what is favorite part since you moved?
