family + travel + lifestyle + wellness
We used to go to Olive garden a ton before we had kids. I feel like their quality has not been the same in the last few years. One of my favorite items (besides the lemon cake they used to have on their dessert menu) is their Zuppa Toscana soup. I recently found this recipe and looking forward to trying it.
Love these words about being yourself.
Recently bought this vitamin C facial toner
This year, we planned two birthday surprises for the kids. Tessa’s birthday is 3 days before my and Brent’s birthday and it’s always a fun and busy time celebrating! Our kids have never been to Disneyland and now that we live so close we figured it would be a great opportunity to go. We spend most of the day in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland but also went to Pirates of the Caribbean and to get Dole Whips 🙂 Brent’s favorite ride was Star Tours and Tessa’s was the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. It was so fun to see them experience all the magic for the first time and we hope we can go back more!
That same week, we went to a Monster Truck Jam (racing event) at Angel Stadium. I saw it on a Listserv for local moms and immediately knew Brent would love it! He has loved cars and trucks for a while, we have about 500 Hot Wheels cars around the house 😉 and recently has been loving the monster trucks also made by Hot Wheels that are modeled after the actual trucks that race in these events. He was so excited when the trucks drove out and he recognized some from his toys! The stadium was packed and it was a fun experience for all of us, and also nice that we are close to Anaheim.
Like most people, I make a health related goal at the beginning of every year. How are yours coming along? I feel like most people are super motivated in January and sometimes that motivation fades as the year goes on. To help all of us achieve our health goals this year, I will post a small health tip every month to hopefully boost that motivation level. All the tips will be practical and simple. I’m not into fad diets or drastic measures that promise quick results (because they usually don’t last). My philosophy is more about consistency and challenge. Some tips won’t necessarily focus on just physical health as over wellness includes mental, social, emotional and spiritual health. Here is February’s health tip:
When I’m done working out, one of the first things I want to do it eat! It’s easy to eat snacks or even junk but try to fill up with good, whole foods. When you burn calories exercising, you need to replace those calories. Don’t let your body store junk food calories or it’ll take longer to progress. I’ve listed some of my favorite, easy post workout snacks and I also like these protein bites you can make before hand.
Lots to celebrate today! –
Today is my and Brent’s birthday! I can’t believe he’s FIVE! His due date was I think 5 days after my birthday and it was a great surprise to have him born on my birthday – love celebrating my birthday with my firstborn 🙂
We surprised for their birthdays with their first time at Disneyland and a Monster Truck Jam show (at the Angels Stadium)! It was so fun to experience those with them and for them to see the magic of Disneyland! It’s been a crazy and exhausting week but fun to have our 3 birthdays so close to each other!
Tomorrow I get to attend a baby shower for my best and most loyal friend! They’ve been actively waiting 7+ years for their little miracle baby.
With this most recent move to LA area, we have moved 11 times in our 10 years of marriage. You’d think that by now that we’re experts and that our moves are effortless, easy and enjoyable – ha, ha! We do love traveling and exploring new cities and places but if we move again it’ll be too soon 😉 Moving is exciting, stressful and full of possibilities. We have lived in some amazing cities including Washington DC, Edinburgh and Austin.
Here are a few things we have learned through all our moves:
-Buying a brand new home is (obviously) the easiest (and most fun!) This is in regards to loans, financial transactions and the closing process. We bought our home in Austin from the previous owner and the process was more stressful because the closing process took longer since 2 parties were involved. We were in an AirBnB for a few weeks while we were in transition. So if you buy, anticipate it taking about a month for the negotiations, loans, paperwork, inspection, etc to process until the time you actually get the key.
–Discard of things you don’t use! Don’t pack up something you haven’t used in years to your next home because you ‘might use it sometime’! If an object or article of clothing has served it’s purpose, doesn’t fit, is never use, etc someone else may benefit – we made numerous trips to Goodwill in preparing for each of our moves and we haven’t missed any of those items we donated. Moving is also a great time to make a few extra dollars selling items you don’t use. We had a few duplicate kitchen items we received as wedding presents that we stored, moved and for some reason kept for NINE years! Selling and discarding such items is refreshing and one less thing to pack. We’ve had pretty good success using Facebook Marketplace.
–Get moving boxes from Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Moving boxes from a place like Uhaul, a storage place or Home Depot can add up in cost and usually you can find people with spare boxes in good condition. We only had 2 weeks from when we moved from Utah to Texas and no one had free boxes so we had to buy them but luckily that was the only time.
And my #1 moving tip:
–Declutter ASAP! You have more stuff than you think (especially once you have kids) and the sooner you start, the less you’ll have to pack. Your garbage can will fill up so fast and the last thing you want to be doing is hauling trash to a local or city dumpster. The day you know you’re moving, start de-cluttering! Pack conscientiously and try not to haul around stuff you won’t use in your new home.
So far we’ve really loved Chino Hills! We’ve been here for one month already. The main things we look for when we move cities is 1) quality of school district 2) affordability 3)accessibility (distance to important things like a gym, church, library, freeway, etc) 4) crime levels. Since we’d never heard of or been to Chino Hills before submitting our lease application we did a ton of online research. One of the sites we found very valuable is Area Vibes (thanks, Nashes!)
Chino Hills is hilly (obviously ha), has top rated schools, lots of vegetation, close to shopping, restaurants, gym, church, parks, etc. It isn’t super close to downtown (depending on traffic it can take a long time) but luckily we don’t have to drive into the city and Dave can work from the units he manages or from their downtown office. The house has a lot of natural light and lots of built in cabinets in the kitchen, like so much there are empty cupboards!
The only things we haven’t liked so far are behind the backyard is a road that isn’t super busy but still has traffic. Our other homes have been on cul de sacs and super quiet. Our current home is on a cul de sac but it’s a long cul de sac and we’re not on the end part. The other thing I dislike is the color of the main part of the house – it’s yellow!!! You can’t really tell from these pictures but I feel like the color makes the room feel dated and grungy. The master bed and bathroom are cornflower blue which I’m not a huge fan of but the hallway, stairwell and other bedrooms are white (which is my first choice). Overall though we are happy especially since we signed the lease without seeing it.
Does anyone have a robotic vacuum
I recently tried this fired grilled steak bowl for lunch and loved it! I usually don’t eat frozen food but received this one complimentary to review. It was quick and easy to make and tasted similar to the veggie burrito bowl I like from Chipotle. I loved that it had 20 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber! I can’t remember the exact cost but it was around $3-$4. The only con was that I was still hungry afterwards (although maybe this is a reflection of me and my eating habits rather than the meal ha!) I would definitely buy it again!
Agree with many of these 6 things I didn’t realize about having a baby
A long time in coming, but there are new shop items! Last year we were so busy packing, unpacking and moving that I felt like I barely had time to devote to my shop outside of ‘Buy 1, give 1‘. It’s been a fun hobby for me to learn new skills and have the opportunity to create. A few new necklaces in the shop:
On Saturday we participated in a service project our ward coordinated with another local Christian church. We assembled and delivered sandwich lunches for the homeless. We went to the park. We ate Mexican food. We didn’t march in LA as part of the ‘Women’s March’ but my heart was with the men, women and families who did march. Why did a million people march? Was it just women’s rights, abortion rights, anti-Trump? Maybe for some people. When I first read about plans to march a few months ago, it was advertised as a ‘March for Human Rights’. Women in the US are blessed to enjoy many more freedoms and liberties than women in many other countries. I believe women’s rights are human rights. When one group is marginalized it can allow other minority groups to become marginalized. My 2 cents on why this ‘March for Human Rights’ was so important:
We stand in solidarity with minority groups around the world
We stand for the equality, that all genders are equal (feminism does not mean women are greater and it doesn’t mean that mean aren’t great)
We stand for the right to peacefully protest
We stand for the poor, homeless and refugees around the world
We stand for the men, women and children who are victims of domestic violence
We stand for men and women who have been silent or vocal victims of rape and other sexual assault
We stand for the people who can’t receive an education because their families are too poor
We stand for the people falsely imprisoned
We stand for the people who are forced into slavery
We stand for people who need health insurance despite pre-existing conditions
We stand for humans fleeing their homes from war
and united we stand.
I might be living under a rock but I just found out what skin essence is last week – has anyone tried one?! There seems to be a lot of types with varying functions including hydration, creating a more even skin tone, etc. I’m interested in this one from The Body Shop
How to have an awesome weekend WITHOUT spending any money!
One of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.:
Jen Holtkamp 