FROM: STELLA

TO: LAURA

1. My mom came across the country last week to help us get ready for the baby. We’ve spent the time re-organizing and decluttering all of my closets to make room for more stuff. I finally have a crib in place and am ready to decorate! The nursery is going to have a travel theme and I love these little map prints that we were gifted from our registry.

   

2. We have less than two months to go before my due date and had a lot of purchases that I still needed to square away. I scored some great second-hand deals on craigslist, next door and offer up for items where I wanted a premium product but didn’t care about it being brand new. We ended up getting a bugaboo bee stroller that is super lightweight and still in great shape, plus it’s all machine washable so I’ll be able to feel good about our brand new baby taking his first stroll in a second-hand stroller. It also came with a cocoon insert so that I can use it straight from birth.
3. In non-baby news, I loved this article from OMAAT about how to take someone on a surprise destination trip to another country without them realizing it until you arrived at customs.
4. I’ve been trying to set up my at-home yoga practice and have been really enjoying Corepower On Demand. It’s almost as good as going to a hot yoga class in a studio.

FROM: LAURA

TO: STELLA

1. I loved seeing Southern Living’s tour of Julia Engel’s house! I’ve followed her blog for years and it’s been very cool to see the progression of Gal Meets Glam into a clothing line alongside the life changes that Julia and Thomas have gone through! They just welcomed a baby girl, too, so I’ve loved seeing their nursery and baby favorites so far!
2. I have started the project of making my own baby food to feed Ernie (as seen as many cubes of food in last week’s It’s A Thing!) and have so many internet resources to thank for making it seem easy and not like an endlessly daunting task. This read has probably been my favorite so far, and it is a super in-depth resource on everything from what and how to prepare to how to store and serve!
3. A friend of mine wrote this article, “Is My Kid Fluent in Racism?” for HuffPost and I thought it was a great introspection at the language we use around our kids. As Ernie grows up I know it will become even more important to pay attention to exactly what we’re saying and referring to around him.
4. I am VERY late to the game on this, but I just downloaded Libby and connected it to my library card and Kindle this week. It has already been a game-changer (I read two books this week!) as far as getting (or at least getting in line for) newer titles and I can’t believe it took me so long to jump on it. Maybe now my Goodreads “to read” list will start reducing rather than my usual habit of adding five books for every one that I read.