Friday Favorites

Hi all and happy Friday! I am so happy to be here sharing our favorite moments from the last couple of weeks with you. Are you all finally getting into a routine during this whole quarantine thing?? If I am being honest, I'm not... but that's okay! Michael is really good about staying productive, exercising and getting housework done. Meanwhile, I'm over here with a dirty diaper in one hand, Ella in the other and asking myself when the last time I showered was. I'm glad I have him to keep me on track and to remind me of how blessed we are to be 'okay' during this time when so many others are not.

If you haven't already, please check our other posts from this week.

Check out Ella's Nursery Tour! It's a quick one!

And our Day in the Life post- quarantine style!

For those that have already read those posts- thank you so much!!! :) Now here are some of my favorite moments from the last couple of weeks!

One-

My favorite face with the most kissable cheeks and my favorite arm roll.

Ella has that Instagram model *look away but look cute* pose down! ;)

Over the last few weeks Michael and I have watched our little baby girl transform into a toddler before our eyes. She has such personality, is sooo smart, loves to 'help' and is finally starting to talk. Ella now says please, which sounds more like 'eeese' and it's the cutest ever. Spending this extra time with her and watching her grow is and will always be my favorite.

Two-

Ella has been taking advantage of Dad's work out equipment at home. She loves pretending to do pull ups with Daddy, and can now balance on the bosu balance pads all by herself! I love watching her get stronger and work on her balance.

Three-

All this extra time spent making meals at home has actually been great. Lots of fresh and delicious salads are always my favorite. I like to ruin the healthy-ness of them by adding bacon, croutons & cheese to mine :) Oh and dressing. The only food we have really had during this quarantine was either made by me or my in-laws. We've really avoided fast food or restaurants right now... just to be safe. (Although I think we are deeply overdue for some take-out!)

A couple more successful recipes this past week-

I made a homemade broccoli cheddar soup and it was so delicious and my favorite meal of the week! Don't let looks fool you, this was a winner! Ella loved it too! It was so easy to make and I am working on typing up the recipe for a blog post really soon!

I also made some really delicious chewy chocolate chip walnut cookies. I made them with less chocolate chips and lots of nuts! They are probably the best cookies I have ever made!

Four-

Our sweet girl on Easter day. I am so in love with her Mini Boden dress! Way before I was even pregnant with Ella, I would pin their outfits and browse their children's clothes. I dreamt of the day I would have a little girl and get to buy her some Mini Boden! We try not to spend much on her clothes as we know she outgrows them fast... but this was a special purchase, and I got it at Nordstrom Rack on sale, so it's fine!

Five-

Sweet Ella has been loving t hese shoes and so do I! Our friend Jena owns a children's clothing boutique and gifted them to us at our baby shower. They have been great, easy, slip-on shoes for quick walks outside. Check out her boutique The New Class here.

Six-

Staying cool and having fun in the warm weather when you live in an apartment can be interesting... It involves toys in buckets full of water. (Which later gets upgraded to a $10 pool!)

10$ pool folks. The only place we have space to play with this is in my parking spot in the alleyway of our apartment building... It's a pretty hideous view, but at least she's having fun! I'll show her these pics later in life to remind her of her humble beginning... :) Playing in the pool has been Ella's FAVORITE!

Seven-

Selfies with my baby are my favorite and clearly not hers! HAHA. This picture makes me laugh so hard. I also love this picture because our outfits are so colorful (and that is so rare for me!)

Eight-

Who says you can't burn pumpkin scented candles in the Spring? I love burning candles in the early morning and evening.

Nine-

Bubbles outside are Ella's FAVORITE. Unfortunately after we took these pictures, Ella slipped on the bubbles and hit her head on the ground (not Mommy's favorite!) She ended up with a nice bruise on her forehead but is 100% okay!

Ten-

I got my Garden Republic herb garden in the mail and I was so excited to try it! Don't ask me why I chose such a large bowl to pre-soak my seeds, but I did. Ha. Ella and I planted the cilantro seeds first and I really hope we are successful and able to grow fresh herbs at home.

So cute, right? Fingers crossed something sprouts!!! #Nogreenthumbs

If you want your own herb garden, check it out here!

Eleven-

Michael's parents bought Ella this new step-stool and she is loving it. I can't even believe my girl is big enough to brush her own teeth at the sink! (FYI- I always brush her afterward!) Ella loves her Munchkin toothbrush and we mostly just brush with water, but if Ella is really struggling I use a smear of children's fluoride free toothpaste.

Twelve-

Our family walks around Seal remind me of why I love this sweet city by the beach oh so much. We were walking down a street we don't frequent very often and I was like "Michael! I have to take a picture!" I absolutely love this street with the palm trees and the City Hall building. So pretty! I can't wait to take advantage of this amazing place once life gets back to normal. We are missing the beach, the park and all of Ella's local friends!

Thirteen-

We spent Earth Day going for walks, playing and being silly. This girl's personality is my favorite.

All about that social distancing and mask life!!!

Thank you so much for checking out our favorites from this week!

And if you aren't already, be sure to follow us on Instagram!

My blog Instagram only has 125 followers or so. It has been tough trying to build my following on Instagram, but I refuse to be a try-hard or anything but myself. I would love my followers here to follow me on Instagram too, if you aren't already. Our blog insta is here! Thanks for your support friends!

And if you made it this far, hopefully you aren't asleep..

We will be back Monday with a brief recap of our weekend and to share a couple of yummy recipes!

5 comments

RechelleApril 24, 2020 at 8:14 AM
SO many great favorites!! Can't wait for that broccoli cheddar soup recipe, yes please ;) You are such a great mama making things fun for Ella with the buckets of water and then pool too!
MaureenApril 24, 2020 at 3:47 PM
Your little one is so cute. Her smile is so precious and I can't even do what she is doing standing on those balance balls! Way to go Ella! We have cooked so much this time too that it's getting harder to be motivated to keep doing it. That broccoli cheddar soup looks great though and something my little guy will eat. He seems to love broccoli! I hope you are having a great day so far and wishing you a beautiful weekend ahead!

Maureen | www.littlemisscasual.com
Dara @ Not In JerseyApril 27, 2020 at 5:38 AM
That mask picture is the cutest! I look forward to the soup recipe!