1.) my favorite shorts of all time - i own three or four pair in black, and between the months of march and october, it’s safe to say I’m wearing these 95% of the time. they’re the best. comfy, high-waisted, incredibly flattering, and long enough so that when I bend over I show no bum. aka THE BEST SHORTS EVER.
see my other warm weather essentials here
2.) our outdoor sensory tables - the weather is BEAUTIFUL and KK wants to be “out! siiiiide!” allllll the time. i can’t thank Past Haley enough for implementing these three tables that remain set-up and ready to play all the time.
see our favorite outdoor play things for other favorites!
3.) my favorite hair oil - i rub a little bit into my palms and apply it to my showered hair. i’m in the pool all the time - both swimming laps and playing with KK - and this stuff is my thick, thirsty hair’s holy grail.
see all the things that help my dry skin/hair here
see my list of what I bring to the gym (and pool!) here
4.) I swear by this white noise machine. brett and I have two in our room, one on each side of the bed. (we also have two in KK’s room.)
we also keep three of the travel versions of that white noise machine and we keep them near our flashlights so that when the power goes out (or we go on a trip), we all still have access to our favorite white noise.
i also swear by our pillows. we consider them one of our best investments. i wash them once a month as part of my monthly routines and I’m pretty sure it’s Brett’s favorite day of the month.
5.) my favorite hand sanitizer. we invested in two big jugs of it - one for each changing station in our home - and taking the time to get my favorite hand sanitizer was such an easy way to add a little joy to our daily routine.
see my other postpartum favorites here
6.) my airpods - thanks to these gems, my Audible membership, and my library cards, I’m listening to so many audiobooks now. walking, folding clothes, cleaning the kitchen, etc - now all involve an audiobook and it’s making me so happy. i now listen to audiobooks when I drive and now I no longer dread the boring monotony of driving.
7.) neighborhood walks - they get my creative juices flowing or get me to work through an issue - a good walk is the answer to all sorts of problems for me. and I love to walk with my weighted vest - this book and this post explain the benefits of doing a slowwwww daily walk with a weighted vest.
tldr: it allows your overused trap muscle - the one used to carry your head - to rest and release, among other benefits.
I often used to get horrible neck/back pain from all the time I spent looking downward - from all the baby stuff and cooking stuff and reading stuff and computer stuff and housework stuff and floral stuff and overall sitting with horrible posture stuff - until I started this routine.
**the vest is supposed to be less than 10% of your body weight, so mine is a 12 pound vest.
see the full list of routines/things/systems that help me feel my best here
8.) our new Sunday - Tuesday dinner rhythm, the restful dinner themes that take care of us all week long in this season of playing outdoors more (thanks to the beautiful weather and active toddler) and eating out less (thanks to inflation):
sunday: brett grills a ton of chicken for sunday grill and chill. i make some sort of beans and rice. i set out all sorts of fixings (queso, cheese, guac, pico, onions, cream, etc etc etc), as well as good tortillas, tostadas, and tortilla chips. and we delight in a Build Your Own Burrito Bowl/Quesadilla/Nachos/Taco/Whatever You Want situation. we thrive on these leftovers all week, and it’s open ended enough that it has yet to feel repetitive, so we figured, “why reinvent the wheel? let’s make this a weekly thing.”
I share more details in my weekly menu plan newsletter.
monday: sandwich night. which unofficially we’ve made into a Build Your Own Grilled Chicken Wrap/Sandwich/Slider Night, for the same reasons above. we set out leftover grilled chicken, leftover good tortillas, and some sort of good slider/bun. along with lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cheese, and all sorts of dressings/sauces like ranch dressing, honey mustard dressing, caesar dressing, wing sauce, etc etc etc and we each build what we’re craving.
I share more details in my weekly menu plan newsletter.
tuesday: a veggie plate, costco pizza, and gooooood ranch from my favorite restaurant.
see our new dinner themes and our new meal rotation - and why they work for us in this season of warmer weather, an active toddler, and rising prices - here!
here’s what I do when I’m craving a change (or when a routine is no longer working) - this post is very popular, as it’s me thinking aloud all the tweaks and changes we needed to make in this new season of ours
9.) my monthly dinner dates with brett
see more about this ritual of ours - and how/why we prioritize it - here.
10.) these magical tablets to clean my dishwasher once a month
yes, yes, there are other ways to clean a dishwasher - these tablets are just what I use and love.
here’s my full cleaning schedule
here’s my list of monthly routines
Loved this list?
See my big list of things that help me feel my best - aka my absolute favorite routines and systems. I’m always updating this list and it’s definitely my most popular post!
Follow my stories on Instagram - I’m always showing peeks into our days and all my favorite things there!
Subscribe to my weekly menu plan newsletter - I share what we’re eating the next week, what I plan to meal prep on Sunday, and a few of my favorite things that are really helping me.
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