The Week of No Content

Ok, I must admit: I'm in a blog rut. I have been racking my brain all week trying to think of something to write about and I came up empty, so here we are. I adore this blog space for Hank updates, keeping track of my reading, a place to share favorite recipes, and the musings of our daily lives. I've kept this blog for over three years. Can you believe that?! I started it on a whim and I have loved keeping it up (and still do!). 

Visiting Hadley 

A few weeks ago I read back some old posts and man, things got deep around here. In the midst of daily life, we managed to buy a home, navigate the early years of marriage, I switched from being a charter school teacher to a district teacher, we were pregnant twice, welcomed two beautiful babies into the world, and we're raising our handsome hilarious son and missing our gorgeous perfect daughter. That's a lot. And life has been crazy, messy, beautiful, amazing, hard....sometimes all in the same month, week, day even. We're in a time of peace right now (I write this as Hank has discovered his ability to crawl and life as we know it has changed. Ha), but I want to sit in this space and savor it. Relaxing times deserve to be written about too. Daily life deserves its own space in the memory books. 

Writing a daily post is just not workable for me in this season. And you know what? It's okay! I don't want every piece of me shared in a post. I want to get coffee with a friend and share about things I haven't written about. I want to call a friend and discover insights through talking. The internet can be a powerful tool, but I never ever want it to replace real and true live connection. 

But I still, constantly, feel the need to write, about simply living, the daily ebb and flow. I find glimpses of the holy, the heartfelt and the hilarious and I feel like recording it in the written word. Right now I'm in a season of just sitting with it all. Embracing the quiet (well, not really quiet at all...more like the sort of peaceful?). Being a working teacher mom feels like a delicate balancing act on the best days and a circus on the worst. I'm a wife, mom, teacher, and friend and sometimes it's hard not to compartmentalize those parts of me. So, I'm trying, against my very nature, to just "be" and guys, I need to be real....having nothing to write about this week drove me crazy. I don't do well with just "being"....I'm working on it! ENFJ's/Type A's where you at?! 

But instead of typing out a post I'd been drafting this week, I spent extra time watching Hank crawl, snuggling with AJ and watching TV or reading, hitting the gym, going to bed earlier, calling a friend, making a dessert. It felt so perfect. I promised myself when I began this blog that if it ever felt like work, I'd call it quits. And it never really has. But this week it did. So I put it on the back burner and I'm glad I did. 

Shauna Niequist (one of my all time favorite authors) says sometimes we need to sit back and "let the waves do their work in you." So I'm here, awash in life, and trying not to lose sight of myself as a writer of the beautiful ordinary. There, I said it: I'm a writer. It's who I am and I love it. Even when it seems like there's nothing to write about. Maybe it took a blank blog slate for me to realize there's so much I still want to say. It might be trivial, it might be simple, but it's mine. And I'm so thankful for it. This blog hasn't seen the last of me yet. 

Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie 

What I'm Loving Lately

Hi Everyone! It's time for another edition of What I'm Loving Lately! Lots of beautiful blessings to celebrate. Here we go....

1. Hank! This boy is so much fun. He's nearly 9 months old and I LOVE this phase. He has one itty bitty baby tooth coming in. Yay! We love going for walks and playing with blocks. I swore I'd never wear one of those teething necklaces because umm, gross, but guys, I ordered one and Hank loves it! I got a marble looking one so it's a cute accessory too. Win-win. I ordered it (and a cute paci clip) from this cute Etsy shop (thanks to the mommas at Little Gym for the recommendation!). We just adore our Hankster. I live for his giggles and smiles! And I have three words for teething: Come Lord Jesus. Ha!

The teething necklace 

2. FALL: I know, I know, it's not fall yet, and I haven't even had a PSL yet (I have my first one with Hadley. Click here and here to read about our special fall tradition). BUT, I feel that chill in the morning air, have my pumpkin candle lit nightly, have even been rocking my pumpkin spice latte shirt and I feel it's my civic duty to share that the Pumpkin Maple cake from The Chocolate is perfection on a plate. Now if only the temp would drop enough for infinity scarves, I'd be super pumped.

Dainty Digits worked her magic on my nails this past weekend 

This PSL shirt is from Torrid. That shirt + old navy yoga pants + hat +flip flops while I still can= September Saturday uniform

3. Getting in a Groove: Please tell me I was not the only one who had a moment transitioning back to school this year. My goodness, the early wake ups, the whole long day away from home (and Hank!), balancing act, teaching 24 small humans thing threw me for a loop this year. I finally feel like I'm hitting my stride again and falling back into the groove. And that is something worth loving! My kiddos know the expectations, I remember what I'm doing (most days), and I'm ready to navigate this school year with my cute little crew. Bout time. Sheesh.

4. Books: If you missed my August book review, click here. I just finished a book that I LOVED and cannot wait to share my September books with you at the end of the month. My library holds are coming in faster than I can keep up and I love having a long "to read" list! I know I've said it before, but I cannot emphasize enough how much joy reading brings me and how happy I am that I decided to really commit to it a few years ago.

5. This picture made me laugh. AJ and I were in bed reading by 8:30 this past Saturday night and I asked him if he remembered when we used to be cool. He responded with, "Umm, we never were." True, true. Lol.

6. Batiste Dry Shampoo: If I want to get in a workout on a school day, that's cool. But if I want to work out on a school day AND blow dry and flat iron my hair, well, that just ain't gonna happen. Enter, dry shampoo. I've tried a few varieties and this one is my fave. I've also heard a quick blow dry after dry shampooing amps up the volume and I am here for that.

7. Blueberry Maple Pancakes Candle: THIS CANDLE IS PROBS MY FAVE CANDLE EVER. There, I said it. 

8. When AJ "flies" Hank around. These guys are goofballs and love rough-housing. Watching them fills my heart. 

Have a great weekend!

Savor Your Sparkle,

Leslie 

Vegetarian Chili

There is just something about fall time and chili simmering all day in the crockpot. I decided to try my hand at a new chili recipe with no meat. And the verdict is....I am a fan! Now, I love our regular chili recipe but decided to go vegetarian because I don't have many meatless recipes in my arsenal and this way was so much easier because I didn't have to brown the ground beef before tossing it in the crockpot. This is truly a one dish meal. I am super excited about this recipe that I came up with and will definitely be making it often this fall and winter. It makes a HUGE batch.

Vegetarian Chili

2 cans ranch beans undrained (I just discovered these and love the amazing flavor in place of regular pinto beans)
2 cans kidney beans drained
1 can black beans drained
2 cans diced tomatoes undrained
1 can Rotel undrained
1 can corn drained (next time I'd add 2 cans)
1 can tomato sauce
3 cups vegetable broth (you can add more or even water depending on how liquid-y you like your chili)
1 diced green pepper
1 diced yellow onion
1 tbs. minced garlic
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. chili powder
2 tbs. cumin
1/2 tbs. oregano
1 tbs. sugar
a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper
a splash of hot sauce
1 pinch of red pepper flakes

Dump it all on your crockpot, stir, and cook on low. Ours cooked for about 8 hours. We had my parents over to share in the goodness and we served it with Red Lobster biscuits, cheese, sour cream, and garnished with green onion. Oh so good! Enjoy!

Paper Cuteness with Basic Invite

I am so excited about today's post! A company called Basic Invite reached out and asked if I would do a review of their products and share a bit about them. I said yes please! You all know how much I love cute paper products. There is nothing as wonderful as receiving a handwritten note in the mail. I immediately went to check out their website to choose some cute sample products.

They specialize in invitations (I had the best time browsing their wedding invites), but they also have personalized stationery, note cards, and thank yous. It was so easy to customize the features on whatever product you choose and their selection of colors is amazing. The unique first birthday invitations are extra cute and there's a certain first birthday party I'm planning in a few months!

Hands down, my favorite part of Basic Invite is that once you design your creation, you can receive a sample in the mail of your creation. This is essential, in my opinion, when it comes to something major like wedding invitations.

And Basic Invite also has this cool Address Capturing Service that allows customers to simply share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other form of social media to request their friends and family’s addresses which will be stored in the customer’s account and can then be selected during the design process. Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all Christmas card orders! Seriously, how awesome is that? 

Ok, are you ready to see the goodies I chose?!

 I designed a cute thank you card from Hank that I just love! I had a great time playing around with the fonts and styles and every single part of these goodies are able to be edited. I adore these and am thinking of ordering a bunch.

Ok, these notecards are my faves. I LOVE the shiny foil detail on the sides. I got to choose all fonts and colors. Are these classy or what?

I also designed these personalized flower cards that look Lily Pulitzer-inspired to me. These could also work as thank you notes too. I personalized every bit of these cuties too.

How fun are the teacher note cards I designed? I love how it's just one flat sheet (no fold). I got creative and changed "from the desk of" to "from the classroom of." These are a definite step up from regular post-its. These would be fun for summer mail to send to students too.

These were beautifully made, classy paper products. I will certainly re-order. Even the mailing envelope had an extra touch of cute.

And here's a deal for Sunday Kinda Love readers, Right now Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51

Yay for cute paper goodies! Check out the FUN at Basic Invite

Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie

Life In Captions

 Hi There,
     We've been busy folks over here with the start of school, being parents, squeezing in gym time, book time, meal prepping, and chill time! I'm going to phone in this post and do all my writing through photo captions! This idea because I'm lazy might just need to be a new blog feature! (shrugging emoji....my new favorite). Bring on the captions!

We saw Brandi Carlile at Red Butte a few weeks ago. She's one of my favorite singers! 

We had a picnic--Baguette, prosciutto, pesto, mozzarella, salads, a yummy assortment of desserts. YUM. 

I discovered Rose in a can and my life may never be the same. 

Our friends Johnny and Chelsie

I had a super cute classroom helper one day getting ready for school 

I got these great rugs and kiddie furniture from Donor's Choose this summer. I love how it looks! 

My little nook 

Our amazing friend Kandi babysat Hank one day while we were working in our classrooms and she took this picture with Hank and sent it to school. My heart melted!

First Day of School! 

Hank loves the music at church

I cannot wait for Fall. IT'S THE BEST! 

This beverage has been a new favorite lately 

These guys melt my heart. 

I mean.....<3 

We are all about that meal prep life. We used to just do lunches but with Hank on the scene we've been prepping dinners too. I make a chicken veggie pasta or something and divide it into containers for the week. Easy peasy. 

I saw this on a blogger's insta story and I had to laugh. My sister, Libby, just moved back to Utah and we went shopping for her place and we were cracking up over our different tastes. Hers? Millenial and Marble. Mine? Farmhouse and words.

May you enjoy the rest of your week as much as Hank enjoys flying around in the laundry basket. 

Savor Your Sparkle,

Leslie 

August Reads

I have been so pumped to post my August reads for you all because this was my favorite reading month of 2018 (so far!). August is also the last month of summer so I know my reading will probably slow significantly so I felt like I had to read read read this month to get in all these great ones!
Here we go....

1. I'll Be Gone In The Dark by Michelle McNamara: This. book. was. amazing. I am a true crime lover and the story of the Golden State Killer fascinates (and sickens) me. This book is a wonderful non-fiction book that reads like a novel. It's just as much about Michelle's journey and thoughts as it is about straight facts about the case. My heart absolutely breaks that his arrest occurred after Michelle passed away. There is a beautiful and haunting poem in this book that Michelle wrote in the midst of decades of dead ends (but how close she got to actually pinning down the killer is uncanny) where she writes that one day he will be an old man, living his life, smug that he got away with so much terror, and the police will knock on his door and justice will finally be served. CHILLS (this actually happened this past spring). If you like true crime, this is a must read.

2. People I Want To Punch In The Throat by Jen Mann: This one was a delight. I am a huge fan of hilarious memoirs and this one all about suburban motherhood made me laugh. From Jen's anxiety over getting her kids signed up for the "right" summer camps to her strong desire to own a mini van, this one is relatable and funny, self-deprecating in all the right ways and sweet at heart. A fun, fast read.

3. Hello Sunshine by Laura Dave: I was browsing audio books at the library looking for one to round out the summer in the car and the cute cover of this one caught my eye. This book was so fun, I loved it! It involves romance, the social media and food scene, pretty descriptions of the Hamptons, and more. This is cute chick lit at its best. You'll find yourself cheering for the protagonist as she rebuilds her life and has adventures along the way.

4. My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan: I LOVED THIS BOOK! I finished this one in a weekend because I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen next. This one follows an American Woman who goes to Oxford and has fun adventures (reminded me a lot of The Royal We) but then she falls in love....with a professor. About half way through there's a major twist that I did not see coming. I cried in this one, laughed, and cheered. It was a wonderful book.

5. When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger: I was on the library hold list for this one for a long time and it makes perfect sense: this is a great pool-side summer read. This one was cute, fluffy chick lit. I mean, it's Lauren Weisberger (The Devil Wears Prada) so you know it'll be good. There's honestly not much of a story here, more like 3 pals brought together in Connecticut and how their lives unfold. Still, it was definitely worth the read. The best part? The cameo from Miranda Priestly (the devil herself)!

6. From Scratch: Inside the Food Network by Allen Salkin: This book was in my Easter basket from my family this year. I love the Food Network and I loved reading about the stars of the network. It made me respect Bobby Flay, eye-roll over Robert Irvine, love Rachael Ray, confirm that Anne Burrell is pretty odd, and decide that Ina is in a class all her own. This book was way too long and dense (lots of talk about how the network was created, early days of niche cable networks), but overall it was an interesting read. I'd only recommend this one if you watch and like the Food Network...and even then it was a lot. It's worth skimming!

7. Ghosted by Rosie Walsh: This was my July Book of the Month pick. Ok, I LOVED this one for the first half. It follows the story of a woman who meets and falls in love with her dream man over one fateful weekend. He then disappears leaving her reeling. You do end up finding out why she was "ghosted," and it all wraps up nicely in the end. I guess all the psychological thrillers and twisted characters in other reads this year had me expecting a bit more.

8. Heart Land by Kimberly Stuart: Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the first book to ever make me have a library fine! This one was due earlier this week and I was half way through, it couldn't be renewed, and I had no choice. I'd say it's 75 cents well spent. I loved the book Sugar by Kimberly Stuart so I put her name on my list to check out and this is her latest book. The good? Fun romance and "prodigal daughter" story line. The not so good? Typical. Very typical. This one has a sightly Christian bend but not enough to be considered a "Christian novel." I am torn on this one. It was cute and fun but totally not memorable.

This was one of my favorite reading months! I have full nightstand of September reads ready to roll. Now if only I could add some more hours in my day. Happy reading, friends!

Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie