what we’re eating

This should more be like what we’re NOT eating … after having Oren’s Hummus for dinner during my birthday staycation to SF, I CANNOT stop thinking about it. I had Mediterranean food twice in the week after that weekend in attempts to calm the craving but nothing hits the spot like Oren’s. I’m sad … I really miss it 😂

what i’m reminiscing about

Okay, so this isn’t exactly reminiscing per se but I saw this post on Facebook the other day and wow, it really hit me in the feels. Not so much for D but more so for E because when I looked at the little chart for current 5th graders, it said their last normal school year was 2nd grade … and THAT IS SO LONG AGO. 2nd grade!? D is in 2nd grade now! And E was so little in 2nd grade, is that really the last normal school year she had?! (It was). Sad. I’m so thankful that schools are open as close to normal as possible but there is still a totally reduced parent presence on campus, less volunteer opportunities, we’re not allowed on campus at all except for very limited reasons (even dropping your kid off or picking them up isn’t allowed – you have to stand behind a spray-painted line that delineates the border of the school). I’m hoping that by the time A hits kindergarten we’ll be closer to normal …and fingers crossed that before D finishes 5th grade in three years, both he and A will at least get one year of normal elementary school.

what i’m loving

Okay, I am NOT a big foundation-wearing girl … I don’t typically wear it at all. On a day-to-day basis you can usually find me wearing the Dr. Jart+ Cicapair Color Correcting Treatment (it’s like a BB cream) OR if I find I need more coverage, I might use a cushion foundation because they tend to be a bit lighter. BUUUUUT! I recently tried out the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation and 🤯🤯🤯 guys, it’s SO GOOD. It’s almost like a BB cream but with better coverage – it’s SO natural looking. SO SO NATURAL LOOKING!!! I have heard amazing things about this foundation for years and years and years but the fact that it was a “foundation” sort of turned me off from ever trying. Then, one of my really good friends, S, tried it and I was complimenting her makeup and she started raving about this foundation … and then she gave me a Sephora GC for my birthday to get whatever I wanted so I figured it was a good opportunity to give it a go. I’M SO GLAD I DID!!

I’m wearing it in these pictures and doesn’t it look so natural? I tried to take the pics in sunlight because I feel like that’s when you can really see if someone is wearing makeup or not.

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what we’ve been up to

My brother was just in town (visiting from Korea) so I got to see him a couple of times while he was here. He works overseas so the last time I saw him in person was over two years ago!! 😮 Anyway, my kids loved getting to spend time with Uncle A and we had a good time catching up together.

what i’m dreading

Um so … Halloween is admittedly NOT my favorite holiday. I don’t really like all the spooky decorations that go up in our neighborhood. The thing I’m dreading MOST, though, is that my son LOVES all the spooky decorations and every year – without fail – he begs and begs and begs me to put up spooky decorations around the house. The answer is always a hard no. Partly because I don’t like it but partly because I’d have to go and BUY stuff to make that happen and it’s just not worth it to me. I already know that this conversation is going to pop up again and I’m not looking forward to changing the subject when he mentions it 😂😂😂

what i’m working on

Well, HAHAA I’m working really hard on trying to get a birthday week vlog edited and up on my YouTube channel before it’s way overdue. I just posted a Hawaii vlog last week and we took that trip two months ago so… hopefully my birthday vlog will be up before Thanksgiving.

Also, I’m in the middle of editing our September Pen & Page Gals podcast episode … fingers crossed it’s live before you see this blog post but yea, if I’m honest that’s what I’m truly working on in the moment.

what i’m excited about

Ummmm so y’all know that I have recently come to love press-on nails. Well, that love just got even stronger because (1) I realized that you can trim them down to whatever length you want (you literally just cut them with a nail clipper like you would your normal nail) and (2) I found the most amazing hack that just POPS OFF your glued on press-ons like nothing. AMAZING. I will have an IG Reel up later this week showing that hack but … 🤯 game changer. I’m excited that I’m going to get to rock press-ons whenever I want without worrying about if they’re too long & gaudy or if I’m going to be able to get them off in time for something else.

what i’m watching/reading

Tomorrow I am going to have a HUGE September book recap post up with all the books I read this month and my thoughts on them. Be sure to check back (or subscribe so the post gets sent straight to your inbox!) to see what books I loved and didn’t love this month. And of course, as always, if you love books like me you should check out my book-lovers podcast Pen & Page Gals. We do a monthly book club where we pick a book and read together/discuss at the end of the month!

For what I’m watching … I just finished watching Season 2 of Hospital Playlist. It was so good. So so so good. 🥺 For anyone who says that they tried watching Season 1 and couldn’t get into it, please give it another chance!

I also wrapped up watching Season 2 of Never Have I Ever which was even BETTER than Season 1 and the episodes all went by super quickly because they’re short 30 minute ones. I watched it when I had my “lunch break”. It’s on Netflix if you missed it!

Right now, I’m in the middle of watching the LuLaRich documentary about LuLaRoe. I never got into their clothes but I do know some neighborhood moms who, right around that 2014-2016 time, were raaaaaving about them. This documentary is interestttttting stuff 👀

Oooh! And speaking of documentaries, I did also watch the NYT Presents: Framing Britney Spears episode last week. I am sooooo invested in this #FreeBritney movement 😂 She was an icon of my adolescence and it’s just sad to see where she ended up.

(Also, I’m realizing that for someone who “doesn’t watch TV”, this is a lot of tv 💀. In my defense, when I say I don’t watch TV I mean that I don’t typically watch TV as a way to unwind or veg/relax at the end of the day. I rarely just sit on the couch and watch something. But! I will watch something while I’m eating lunch or doing cardio so I suppose there are consistent moments throughout my day when I get to catch up on shows.)

what i’m listening to

Our church sang this song on a recent Sunday and I’d never heard of it until then. It’s called Christ is Mine Forevermore by CityAlight and it sounds like a modern hymn almost .. it’s a BEAUTIFUL song. I had so many people texting me afterwards asking if I knew the name of the song we sang because it’s such a pretty melody and the lyrics are 😭🤍🥺.

what i’m wearing

Well, in case you missed it, I DID just do a “Week of Outfits” blog post last week with specific details and pictures of *all the things* I’m wearing .. make sure to check it out if you haven’t yet!

what i’m doing this weekend

Socccerrrrr! My son is in his first year on a club soccer team and loving every minute of it. Can I tell you something? I’m loving every minute of being a soccer mom too 😂 We both love it! But now that the season is in full swing, our weekends are FILLED with soccer games. I’ll be on the field cheering on #82 again this weekend.

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what i’m looking forward to next month

I know I said Halloween isn’t my favorite but I do love seeing my kids dressed up and taking them trick or treating. I’m looking forward to that! D also seems disappointed when I never dress up/don’t have a costume so THIS year I AM going to dress up and surprise him! That should be fun, too 🙂 Ooh, and we’re also taking our annual family photos for Christmas cards next month. Fingers crossed everyone stays healthy and weather cooperates!

what else is new

I have a giveaway going on over on IG … I’m giving away a Hosanna Revival ESV Journaling Bible! If you don’t follow me on the gram yet, make sure to go check it out because it’s my first ever giveaway and I’m super excited about it 🤩

(PSST: Also, if you watch the IGTV above, you’ll notice that I slip-up and say “HosannaR Revival” in the beginning of the video. I didn’t notice it until I was editing and … it was too late to refilm + I couldn’t cut it out bc it’s literally the name of the product/brand so I just left it in hoping nobody would notice. Nope. Hubby was the first one to point it out and mercilessly laugh at me 😑.)