Welcome back to my blog! That’s more to myself than anyone else. Last time I published a post, I was in the very early, still secret stages of pregnancy with my second baby! He has since arrived, and he is perfect. We chose the name Winston, and I think it’ll suit him well since he’s very calm/cool/collected so far. Me personally, I’m still working through the postpartum fun that comes with having a baby. Luckily with this being my second, I know what to expect. I’m looking forward to getting back into my workouts once my hip gets back to normal and finding some new clothes I like. I think this time I’ll focus more on finding lightweight/stretchy tops than tops that are specifically for nursing.
Brandon has been plugging away at finishing our basement since we found out we were pregnant again, and he’s doing a great job. He’s completed framing, we got the initial stages of plumbing/electrical done, and the drywall hung for 95% of the basement. Now while we wait on the electrician to come back and add the ceiling lights, he’s working on prefill and then tape/mud/sanding. I’m hoping that we can get our own bedroom back (currently sharing with a toddler and newborn) by next spring. I’d love to get our daughter a big girl bed and bedding for her birthday in March, but we’ll see. I was in a rush to get this all done by my due date, but once I let go of that it was much more relaxing of a pregnancy. Now I care less on when we get done, except having more space for company (especially when the company is additional kids coming over to play lol), getting our room back, and then of course being able to focus on the mortgage.
Now the mortgage.. we haven’t done an extra payment in a while since we’ve been focused on paying cash for the basement finish. And wow electrical/plumbing was way more expensive than we thought! Like double the price. That said, our mortgage started last spring and we have 2+ years of our 30 years of payment already complete! That’s not too bad! Next year I’m looking forward to making some huge progress since the more we front load the principal payments, the bigger impact they make!
With those updates out of the way, I can share five of my recent favorites as a softball update to get back into the swing of things.
Croc Classic Sandal 2.0 in Taupe
My first recent favorite has been my house crocs! I have these same crocs in black, and I’ve even replaced them with the same style/color when the tread wore out. When I was looking for a house shoe that didn’t get gross (like the lining of a slipper), I thought why not get another pair of Croc sandals but in a new color! I chose this taupe color because it was the cheapest color on Amazon (on sale for $25 at the time!), but I actually love it. Maybe next spring I’ll get a different color for indoors so I can wear these outside! I love wearing them in the bathroom or when the kitchen has crumbs between robovac runs (…toddlers!). If you don’t like going into bathrooms barefoot and don’t wear outside shoes inside, I highly recommend!
Sephora eyeshadow single in ‘To The Moon and Back’
I was looking for a new eyeshadow color, but I don’t like buying a full palette only for the other colors to go to waste. I ended up with a single shadow, and I love it! I actually just apply it with my finger lol. I used to have tons of eyeshadows and would always apply with various eyeshadow brushes, but in this mom era where you have 5 minutes to do your makeup unless you have someone watch your little kids, a finger swipe with one color does the job. I also feel like it has less fallout (even with a shimmer) and more saturation than if I were to use a brush. It was also only $8!
Jigsaw Planet online puzzles
I have been LOVING doing online jigsaw puzzles on my iPad while listening to audio books. I haven’t been able to do this as much since having another baby, but it’s such a good way to keep your mind engaged while listening. Audiobooks are the main way I can get through books at this time, and my biggest challenge is keeping my mind from wandering. This works!!
Acura Brightening Facial Scrub
I started using this face scrub during the summer as I dealt with the hormonal skin changes that come with (my) typical pregnancy symptoms. I feel like the extra exfoliation makes my skin less congested than it would be without, even if it doesn’t make it clear. The bottle says to use it a couple times a week, but honestly I use it once a day. I feel like with my skin, I can get away with that because even with zero moisturizer (something I never thought I’d say/do!), my skin hasn’t been dry. Now that it’s going to be winter soon, I think I will need to add a moisturizer or a sunscreen afterwards. Overall, love this scrub even though it’s super messy!
The Book Thief
My final recent favorite is The Book Thief. I don’t want to spoil this book, but the story and style of writing was so engaging and like nothing I’d read before. I also loved how it was historical fiction and showed a point of view that I was less familiar with. I find myself recommending this book whenever I’m talking with someone about reading!
Those are five recent favorites that I’ve had. I haven’t really been buying/doing as much personal stuff, so maybe I’ll do another favorites post specifically for moms/little kids!
Thanks for reading!
Davien
fluted wood & marble 
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