Happy Easter!

Easter brunch at Aunt Mary's ... with a side of candy on candy. Photo cred to my uber talented sister-in-law, Becca!

1. Happy Easter! I hope you had a wonderful Easter that bled into a wonderful week. We enjoyed lots of family time and after years of residency and fellowship I don't think we'll ever take being close to family on holidays for granted. The kids were in absolute heaven, the weather was perfect, and Easter dinner went off without much of a hitch! It'll be a tough one to top, for sure.

2. We moved right on into Phoebes 5th (HOW?!) birthday on Tuesday. She was SO excited for her birthday and soaked up every celebratory minute. I have lots of favorite ages but Kindergarten (or almost!) is right up there with the newborn phase for me.

3. I asked trusty old IG for book recommendations and then made a list of the books I haven't yet read right over here. I started The Light We Lost and am listening to How To Find Love in a Bookshop and so far -- okay on both. I'm not very far into either one, though!

4. You know you're a real good time when you open up your computer to look up lawn mowers (Simon is even lobbying for one of the riding variety) and get distracted by a um ... flash sale on vacuum cleaners. I've read amazing things about Sharks though too ... something to contemplate for another year or two before we actually pull the trigger.

5. Did you see the preview for the new Bachelor spinoff show? At first glance - it looks right up my alley but I have yet to love any of the other spinoff shows (BIP not included) so ... we shall see!

6. When I was little I thought that heaven was literally rows upon rows of high top fuchsia converse and now that I'm older I think that's it's figuratively (and kiddingly) rows upon rows of espadrilles like these. I've never been a huge fan of J.Crew factory's shoe selection but ... suddenly I am!

7. Boden is having a 25% off sale (snagged some shorts for the girls) and LOFT is having a 50% off sale (is this becoming a monthly thing? - not complaining if so!) and my favorite postpartum jeans (the inside of the waistband is elastic) are 40% off right now!

Have a fantastic weekend!!

showers and flowers

grainy grins.

1. What a week. Two weeks, I guess. Clement and I had the pleasure of tagging along on a work trip to Tucson (sunny! sunny! glorious! Tucson!) with Simon last week and had the most wonderful time. My Fitbit (diehard 4 life) reported that I logged the best sleep I've had in months and we came back feeling so refreshed and grateful for my saint of a mom who watched the older kids. Spring sprung here shortly after which was SO nice but has since gone back into hiding. I'm hoping she makes a triumphant return for Easter. My hopes are very much up Up UP.

2. I've been trying to get to the bottom (with the help of my doctor, of course) of some recurrent and intense migraines I've been having and a brain MRI ruled out anything serious/scary this week which somehow seemed to alleviate their intensity and frequency almost immediately. I may have Dr. Googled my way into a spiral of stress and worry making said headaches much worse than they were at the outset. A visit to the chiropractor (my first!) helped too so I might need to make that a more regular thing. I also went for an eye exam and had my prescription updated for the first time in an embarrassing number of years which I'm guessing will help too. I'm trying contacts again as I'm told they've come a long way since I last tried so ... fingers crossed my extra sensitive eyes can handle them. These are all things you don't care to know but the whole thing all but dominated the past several weeks so ... you're lucky you're just getting a summative paragraph, to be honest!

3. Are you hosting an Easter meal? Any good dishes to share? I made this salad out last night to test out as a possible side. I went a little too heavy on the Sriracha otherwise I think my kids would've liked it better (although Abe ate more than Simon and I combined) but it's definitely a contender.

4. I don't think I'll read a book I love as much as I loved Where the Crawdads Sing for a long time but I'm reading The Girl He Used to Know and am thoroughly enjoying it.

5. I've been utilizing the free trial for these workouts until I work up the nerve to even try dropping Abe off at the gym daycare (he so much as hears the word, "sitter" and glues himself to my side and I don't foresee a dropoff going well at ALL) and so far? So great.

6. I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the quality of these earrings. You could keep a pair and gift the rest or go in with a friend ... so so cute and affordable. I'm still chipping away at my Amazon faves too :)

7. There's a big fat Spring Sale going on over here featuring two of my favorites: Madewell & BP (these boots!!!). These crowd favorite leggings are on super sale in my favorite length too!

Have a wonderful Sunday!