The Weekender

It’s Friday! And I couldn’t be happier for a weekend ahead with no plans on the agenda.

What are you up to this weekend? If you’re local to the bay area, are there any fun events going on we should be aware of? We’re brainstorming ideas for a family field trip somewhere on Saturday.

And here we are for a new installment of The Weekender! Here’s a peek into our world lately.

Whole 30 Celebration Lunch: We are officially on Day 20 of the Whole 30. Yesterday we got together with a group of friends who have joined us in this journey to share a meal, swap recipes and tips, and encourage each other on for the last leg. Not only was the food amazing, but it was such a reminder to me of the power of community. I left thankful to be on this journey to better health with so many great people walking alongside us too. By the way, we’re considering doing a Whole60 and continuing on for an additional 30 days. Would anyone like to join us?

Destination Wedding: We booked our first destination wedding this week! I am so excited! We’ll be heading to the beautiful state of Colorado this July. I grew up visiting Colorado because my uncle lived there, but it will be Vitaliy’s first time. It’s a family wedding too so I’ll get to enjoy those nearest and dearest to me which makes it all the more special.

Stay-At-Home-Working-Mom: Being a stay-at-home-working-mom is all about trial and error. I’m learning to get creative about when and how I work. And I’m trying to hustle when I do have the time. Rose is now 12 months old and naps 2 – 3 hours per day but it usually comes in the form of one nap these days. I blame teething, but who really knows. And the timing of that one nap changes day to day. It all used to be very structured and a bit more predictable, but as all things having to do with babies go, things changed. So for the current season I’m in, this is a rough outline of how I’m making things work. I have the most generous people in my life who are willing to invest their time to be with Rose and give me a break. This involves one 2 – 3 hour window per week, usually on Monday or Tuesday. I try to hustle during nap time but this is usually a juggle between work, working out, and prepping meals. One, or usually two, lose out. With grandma now living with us, I can often sneak in a few minutes here and there when Rose is happily playing with her Baba. On top of all that, I started working with a fellow creative one night a week, my friend Mandy from Delighted Co….She is a working mom who also owns her own business. We meet at our local library, sit alongside each other for support and accountability, and work our way towards our dreams. It’s been so helpful – both professionally and personally.

Wedding Blogs: If you are newly engaged or know someone planning their wedding, here are three wedding blogs on my radar recently. Borrowed and Blue – I just discovered this blog but I like the layout and it seems like it has a lot of valuable and helpful information. Snippet & Ink – this wedding blog feels more genuine to me. I feel like a lot of wedding blogs are just about pretty pictures, but S&I seems to value good imagery with an emphasis on storytelling. The Daily Wedding – I recently discovered this blog because a bride inquired after finding us in their “photographer” section. Thanks for the feature! Again, I like the “real wedding” feel to the images and their heart for marriage.

Life Hack – Bulk Meal Prepping: I won’t lie – I’m learning to love to cook. Emphasis on “learning”. Vitaliy is an artist in every way, even in the kitchen. He even plates his meals in such a way that looks as if we’re eating at a 5-star restaurant. So, cooking three meals a day is not appealing to me. My current life hack for preventing the need to cook every meal while doing the Whole 30 which requires real food for every meal is to cook in bulk. We now double or even triple our recipes so that we have leftovers for this week and, if possible, can freeze some for a future meal as well. It has been a game changer and something I hope to continue doing even after we finish the Whole 30.

Date Night: We were not able to make date night happen yet this week. Vitaliy had a big deadline for a commercial project he’s working on so he worked through the evening last night. We’re hoping to find some time today while Rose naps. And it will likely involve working on our powersheets. We’re trying to finally finish setting our goals for 2016 by the start of March.