Friday Five

Happy Friday! This weekend is going to be busy with Easter fun and planning outfits/last minute shopping for the conference I’m attending next week in Dallas, so here’s to a relaxing Friday…

O N E
So, my beloved Anne of Green Gables is coming back — this time to Netflix in a new series, “Anne,” based on the original. My love for AOGG runs deep. I cannot tell you how many times I watched all of the movies as a child/teen. It’s still one of my favorite series EVER. I always related to Anne a lot and she continues to be a favorite literary character. I truly can’t imagine anyone doing the character as much justice as Megan Follows did, but I’m keeping an open mind and will reserve all commentary until I watch it. Megan Follows will forever be Anne (with an “e”) to me. Will you watch the Netflix series? Go here to view the trailer. Also, can you just imagine my delight when Harper was born with red hair? #besthaircolorever
T W O
I don’t normally like to dole out “parenting advice” because every child is so different and I can only share what works for our family, but this is too important not to share. Lately there have been a lot of articles online about children choking on grapes lodged in their throats. Some have sadly died from this. I remember as Harper got older I felt it was no longer necessary to cut her grapes in half (lengthwise). It turns out, I was wrong and I’m so happy to have read these articles to be reminded of why it’s important to continue to halve grapes. It turns out, grapes are the perfect shape and size to lodge in a child’s throat and become stuck.  So frightening and there’s an easy solution — cut all grapes in half, lengthwise. I actually found a grape cutting tool a few months ago that’s so easy to use and you don’t run the risk of cutting your finger as you try to hold a slippery/wet grape on a cutting board. This under $10 tool does all the work for you— just pop a grape in and press down, and it cuts the grape into four even pieces. It’s truly the best and I highly recommend it—you can buy the grape cutter here.
T H R E E
Did you read my post from Wednesday about the 30-day sugar challenge? It’s been a week and so far, so good. Days 1-4 were the hardest because I really craved sugar after eating lunch and dinner, but I had to fight the urge. I’m tracking my diet so that every Wednesday on the blog when I do a weekly check-in, I can share what I’ve been eating. The second night of the challenge, after I ate my dinner, I walked to my pantry to grab a peanut butter cup and promptly turned myself around. Old habits die hard. There was also a Nothing Bundt Cakes bunt cake in our break room last week at work and I’m pretty sure my face was twitching as I walked away from it.

My goal with this detox is to actually challenge my own beliefs that I NEED something sweet after every meal and that I don’t have control over how much sugar I eat. Neither of those are true — but to have control over my consumption requires a level of discipline that is difficult for me. I often wonder how I was dairy/soy and at one point top 8 free when I was nursing, but it was made easier by the fact that I was doing it for my son. I was driven by my instinct to care for and protect my son, so that sacrifice was mentally more tolerable.

And since we’re on the topic of all things health, I’ve continued my 4-day a week workouts and I’ve been feeling great and challenged. I’m planning to do a post soon about my favorite fitness gear— so stay tuned! I’ve also chatted with my trainer about filming some quick “at home” workouts for you ladies…but that’s something I may wait to take on in a few months because life is just too busy right now.

F O U R
Serena and Lilly’s new catalog arrived last week and OMG…it makes me want to buy all of the things for our home. Here are some things I’m currently loving…
bar cart  |  riviera side chair  |  pouf  |  shore dining chair  |  mirror  |  basket  |  striped throw  |  art  |  scalloped hurricaine

F I V E
Did you see the adorable new clothes from June & January? Love this peplum top especially!
We also recently got this wood growth chart from White Loft— can’t wait to install it on our playroom. These kiddos are growing up a little too fast! As you can see, Lincoln is too cool for photos. This kid is nearly impossible to photograph these days because he does.not.stop.moving.

Have a great weekend and if you celebrate, happy Easter!