This month has been very busy for me professionally and personally and I’m feeling physically exhausted but emotionally very fulfilled. On the home front, we celebrated Luca’s first birthday (and Anel’s 36th), took our first vacation as a family of four, and broke ground on one of two big home projects we’re hoping to finish before the summer.
And we got three more baby chicks to add to our chicken family which will round out the crew to 10 chickens total. They’re still living in the garage right now but will move to the coop with the rest of the gals by the summer.
Luca is standing now and walking is weeks if not days away. I’m terrified. Everyone says things are different with a boy and I’m here to tell you that they aren’t lying! This kid gets into anything and everything he can get his hands on. He has no fear and the physical exhaustion of chasing him around before he can even walk is a lot, and it’s about to grow tenfold. Lord help us! And respect to all the boy moms out there. I had no idea. No. Idea.
Work-wise, April is always one of my busiest months in terms of partnerships (besides holiday) so it’s been nonstop over here in the best way possible. I have been able to work with amazing brands and have some very cool partnerships in the pipe this spring and summer.
Pictured above: Raincoat / Boots
WHAT I’M READING & WATCHING
Books – I’m in a huge book rut. I haven’t been like anything that I’ve tried to read lately (besides Luster, which I reviewed last month and loved), but Amalia and I went to the library yesterday and I picked up 4 new options so hopefully, this turns around soon. This is very unlike me. I usually plow through a few books per month but I just can’t get into anything!
TV Shows– Life & Beth (Hulu): We finished this series last month and loved every single second of it. I mentioned this in my last 5RT post, but our neighbor (and Amalia’s babysitter) plays the young version of Liz and that made it even more fun to watch! Amy Schumer and the entire cast create a storyline that is hilarious, sarcastic, sweet, and real all at the same time. Anel and I absolutely loved Life & Beth.
White Hot: The Rise and Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch (Netflix): If you’re an 80’s baby, this Netflix documentary is a must-see. A&F has totally rebranded and changed their despicable behavior with completely new management, but man I did not realize how deep their racism and dedication to exclusivity ran. If you ever felt uncomfortable walking into an A&F store because the (usually very good looking) staff was rude to you, you aren’t alone. It was part of their marketing. And that just scratches the surface of their policies that will make you gasp. Definitely a good and educational watch.
Top Chef (Bravo): If you’ve been following along for a while, you know I’m a Top Fan superfan. This season might be the best yet! All of the chefs seem crazy talented and seeing so many familiar past contestants in the guest judges is great. Anel and I each pick two chefs, one at the end of episode one and one at the end of episode two, and whoever’s chef goes the farthest in the competition wins the Top Chef bet!
5 THINGS I’M LOVING
1. Lomi Home Composter: Food waste is always a topic of conversation in our home. I wrote a post with lots of facts and tips for how to reduce food waste in your home. To take it up a notch, Anel bought the Lomi composter and it is so effing cool. It turns your food scraps into soil in a few hours with the push of a button.
The dirt that it makes can go into your indoor plants, your garden, or your green bin depending on the mode you select. We put all of our food scraps (that don’t go to the chickens) into the Lomi and it feels so good to see them go into it instead of the garbage. The chickens are our number one composting machine but the Lomi is a close second. We run it about once a week.
It’s so cool to think that our food scraps create the soil that Anel then uses to grow more food in our garden to feed us and feed the chickens that then produce eggs for us. We have a whole little ecosystem going here!
It takes up a ton of room on our counter which is the only downside, but it’s worth it for what it does for both our family and the environment. If I didn’t sell you on it, read this review on self.com.
2. Morbid Podcast: Two weeks ago I drove down to Philly to help my sister set up the nursery for her baby (due next month!) and asked you guys on Instagram for murder-y podcast recs. Morbid was far and away the most recommended and I’m now possibly a superfan? I listened to it all the way down and back and may or may not have circled the block before pulling into my driveway to finish an episode.
If you’re not into true crime, skip the rest of this review. But if you are, stop what you’re doing (presumably reading this blog post) and listen immediately. Two hilarious millennial gals and best friends, Ashley and Alaina, chat and banter about serial killers and other true crime stories. They give all the facts, don’t try to solve any mysteries, and it feels like you’re having a conversation with your pals. 10/10 recommend.
3. The best bodysuit ever? My friend Kat is always wearing this bodysuit and it looks incredible on her so I bought it for myself and fell in love. It is incredibly flattering and looks so chic and more expensive than it is. I have since picked up all the colors and plan to wear them all summer long with shorts, skirts, and jeans. I also bought this one (under $30!) in light blue.
Just note that the bodysuit portion is a thong which I wasn’t expecting. It’s not uncomfortable, just note it if that’s something that bothers you.
To bring it all full circle from the documentary mentioned above, check out the differences between A&F then and now.
4. Betr Remedies: This is one of the coolest concepts I’ve heard lately. Betr, founded by Ellen Pompeo of Gray’s Anatomy fame, makes over-the-counter medicine with the mission to improve medication access in America. For every product purchased, they donate a medication for an American in need.
I was hired by the brand for an Instagram post and was so touched by their stories and mission that I decided to donate my entire fee for the campaign to SIRUM, an organization that connects people in need with surplus medication. Here are some of the facts that sparked that decision:
1 in 4 Americans can’t afford the medicine they need yet $10 billion worth of perfectly good medication is destroyed or sent to landfills each year. When I heard these numbers I was completely shocked (IDK why at this point nothing should shock us) and disturbed. You can read more about medication access here.
By the year 2025, Betr’s goal is to donate 25 million prescriptions to save over $1 billion for patients in underserved communities.
5. The perfect sneakers don’t exi… I have been on the hunt for these pink and orange New Balance sneaks for weeks now. They have sold out multiple times on every site I could find but yesterday they popped back up on the NB website and you know I snagged them the second I could! If they’re already sold out by the time you’re reading this and you want a pair for yourself, don’t fret. Just check back on the website every few days.
Have a great week!
Photo by Julia Dags.
