We said goodbye to our home in Phoenix on Friday. It was bittersweet, but selling our Phoenix condo was a decision we've thought about for years. Buying a condo is one of my proudest accomplishments because I did it all on my own in 2012. I had no idea what I was doing when I submitted an offer on the townhome I had been renting when it went into foreclosure in 2011. I didn't think I could afford ... Read more
My Guiding Word for 2020 + Goals for the New Year
The last week of 2019 was all about just the four of us as a family. We had a lot of downtime instead of the typical busyness of the holidays, and that was a welcomed change. We spent time outdoors enjoying the 60-degree weather in Chicago before the actual winter weather hit and it gave us some hope despite some major letdowns lately that really had us feeling down. I've had some time to think ... Read more
Finding A New Normal After Having Kids
Today's post shares something that's been on my heart lately. I hope that it will help anyone who feels a little lost after a life change. Something I've discussed with my therapist this month has really opened my eyes to one of the sources of my anxiety and postpartum emotions. I realized that I have been holding on to the notion that I needed to "get back to my old self." I keep talking about ... Read more
Postpartum Thoughts: 6 Months
I've had a lot of postpartum thoughts on my mind lately, but I've been hesitant to share them. I don't want to come across as complaining, because in fact I am grateful for my family, my work situation and my life in general. I was hesitant to share this motherhood post because so many moms are shamed when they speak about how they feel or what struggles they are having. You can have prayed for ... Read more
Easy & Affordable Ways to Update Your Home
Graham and I have been slowly making updates around the house in our limited time over the last three months. We would love to be able to tackle the kitchen renovation, but it's not the right time for that yet. Instead we've been doing small upgrades wherever we can. Often these simple and cost-effective tasks completely transform a space. If you, too, are waiting on a major home renovation but ... Read more
Flora Family Photo Session
** This post contains affiliate links. I am compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Floradise! Graham and I have a tradition of taking photos around the time of our wedding anniversary to document our life together. It's been so fun to capture the changes to our family: Over the past four years we've gone from just the two of us ... Read more
Life Update: Our New Home
The past few months have been huge for us. In addition to welcoming Addi to our family, we also closed on our house last week! Our apartment lease runs through July, so we can take our time to move. That's nice because it's been difficult finding the time to pack. Slowly but surely we will get it done, though. We wanted a home that we could update to make our own. We need to do ... Read more
What I Didn’t Know About the Fourth Trimester: Maternity Leave Lessons
Maternity leave is over. I'm back to work full time as an editor. A positive is that I can work from home, though returning to work was still depressing and overwhelming. But on my first day I realized I also felt something I didn't expect: relief. I felt relieved to be forced into a routine that is in some ways familiar. I felt more like myself than I have in months. Now that I am working again ... Read more
4 Lessons from My First Month With a Newborn
** This post was sponsored by DockATot. All opinions and photography are my own. It's hard for me to believe that Adelina has been with us nearly a month now! The days have been long but all too short at the same time. I've learned so much about taking care of a newborn and myself in the past four weeks, so I wanted to share four lessons I've realized in my first month as a mom of a newborn ... Read more
2018 Word of the Year, Plus Simplifying To-Do List
For the past few years I have chosen a word to guide the following 12 months. Each year I have watched that word change my life, sometimes in ways I didn't expect. When I saw the following word last week, it spoke to me. I knew this would be my chosen word for 2018, as well as an intention: Believe. Believe is my 2018 word of the year. I believe in myself and that I can make my goals a ... Read more