Winter Must Haves

Growing up in San Antonio, we survived the "winters" with long sleeve shirts and the occasional hoodie.  The entire city seemed to close down when it dropped below 32 degrees, everyone suddenly lost the ability to operate a motor vehicle, and I don't think we'd seen snow since 1984. 

My little snow bunny!

Well, we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto. This is West Texas and this San Antonian LOVES having an actual winter. I enjoy everything about it. The jackets, the school closures, the SNOW. Mostly I just like getting to add an entire new chapter to my wardrobe every year that includes boots, jackets, boots, scarves, boots, and hats. And boots. I love boots. Anyway, here are some things I've depended on this winter (even though it's been pretty mild so far) to get me through...

Thread & Supply Pea Coat

I am loving this pea coat for the cold (but not rainy) days. This coat was seriously $38 (on sale) and really good quality. I got sick of normal pea coats, but this one has a bit of an oversized collar which makes it young and cool looking. I'm not young or cool, but I like to pretend I am. You know. It comes in there different colors, but I have hunter green. 

C.O Bigelow Rose Salve

You GUYS, this stuff is awesome. I bought one at the Sephora counter about 12 years ago and I haven't left home without it since. I love this product for my lips, but it can be used for any dry areas of your body. I like to put it on my cuticles before bed. It is a must have for winter!

Mario Badescu Facial Spray

While we're on the topic of roses, I HAVE to mention this stuff. It's like little drops of heaven in a spray bottle. For seven bucks. It's great as a setting spray, or to just spritz on your face in the morning. I use it before my moisturizer every night, and before my workouts each morning. I swear you'll love this stuff. It smells amazing, and for only seven dollars, you can't go wrong. 

Sam Edelman Penny Boot

I am such a fan of Sam Edelman's shoes. They are so cute and more importantly, so SO comfortable. My mom used to buy Bjorn shoes because of how comfortable they were, and I always thought it was such an old person thing to do. Sorry mom. Well, I never thought I'd buy shoes for the comfort level, but here I am. Being old. #32. Thankfully you don't have to sacrifice looks for comfort anymore. Every pair I own of this brand is comfy enough to walk around in all day. These come in three colors. I own the black, but I looove the brown. Plus, they are on sale. 

Here are some other things I can't live without during the colder months:

*Coffee. Duh*

*Hand lotion. I love Korres or Vaseline brand*

*A good chunky knit throw for the couch*

*My husband. For snuggling purposes*

*Red wine, because momming is hard*

*CC beanies in every color*

*Nerdy fuzzy socks. Preferably ones with kittens on them*

*Ugly Uggs. I mean let's be real. They aren't cute. But they are warm. And necessary*

Edited to add: None of my links are linking up to Nordstrom's site. But you can find each item by searching on www.nordstrom.com. If you're into that kind of thing. 

Good morning!  Happy 2017! I'm sitting at the table drinking coffee and watching Crew feed his french toast sticks to our dog, Boston.  I'm only on my first cup so I don't really have the energy to stop this circus quite yet, so every few minutes I'll say "no, no" and then ignore the situation completely because you know, consistency. 

I want to do a "Life Lately" post, just because I haven't been around in awhile (a long while.) Here's what's going on in our little world...

We had an awesome Christmas. We spent so much family time together and Santa came and my bank account suffered, tis' the season. But it was perfect and I'm glad it's over. Rowan started back to school this morning (can I get an amen) and life is returning to normal.

My sweet boys, ready for their Christmas parties!

Crew really enjoyed Rowan's class party. Love this face so much.

We traveled to San Antonio to hang with Nana and cousin Reid for the week. The kids had so much fun at this park in Boerne.

We finished up our break with a trip to the Science Spectrum in Lubbock with other cousin, Zeppelin. It was a blast.

We're gearing up for a quick trip to Ruidoso for the weekend. My sister's family will meet us there. We can't wait to spend a few days with them! Hope everyone is having a great start to their new year.

Hello from the other side!

I have been perhaps the world's worst blogger, but I will attempt to win back your attention over the course of the next few weeks. Forgive me! 

It's a quiet morning around our house. I was up early drinking my coffee and enjoying some quiet time when our sweet morning child, Morgan, joined me in the living room. She turned on Netflix and now she's watching a nature documentary about birds and I'm so disturbed (I can't handle creatures with claws) but she's super interested and I love her, so for now I'll deal with the squawking and pecking. 

I want to talk about motherhood for a minute, mostly because I know so many of my sweet friends can relate to this crazy, exhausting, majorly rewarding thing we call "the mom life."  I know we all live for these days that we spend with our babes. The days that our sweet little offspring find their toes, take their first wobbly steps, and make sour faces when you trick them into biting a lemon...oh wait, am I the only one who does that? Whoops.  Anyway, I have tried to burn these memories into my mind (as well as taking 18 million photos a day on my iPhone) because I know that sooner than I'd like to admit they won't be laughing at my silly faces. They'll be calling me "mom" instead of "mommy" and they'll ask me to drop them off down the street from school because they're too cool to be seen in my car. Lord help me. I feel like my days (and most nights) revolve around my little people. And to be fair, they should. They need me. They need to be fed, loved, played with, and nurtured. They need their mama when they're proud of themselves for building the coolest Lego building of all time. They need me when they wake up in the middle of the night because "sharks were swimming in my room." (Yes, Rowan's greatest fear...that sharks will suddenly gain the ability to breathe air and walk into his bedroom on their two feet to attack him.) They need me.

It's a Full. Time. Job.

Am I right?

Does the good outweigh the bad? One hundred percent it does. Do I have days where I close the door after putting my four year old to sleep, walk straight to the fridge and pour a glass of wine as big as my head? One hundred percent I do. 

I am a self-proclaimed control freak.  I like things done right, done well.  It has taken me almost 5 years of motherhood to realize what I should have discovered long ago....I am a human. 

I will leave the house without an extra diaper.  I'll forget show and tell every so often. I'll feed my kid donuts for lunch on occasion and I'll miserably fail at this mom thing more times than I'll be able to count.

Give yourself grace, fellow Supermoms. Our babies need to see our unconditional love in all things we do, but they also need to see real human circumstances. They need to see that we sometimes fall short.  Because giving them this false reality that things always have to be perfect just sets them up for disssapointment. Ask for their forgiveness when you mess up and move on. They will appreciate your flaws and learn from you.  

Join me in embracing the craziness, laughing when you feel like crying, and loving the heck out of these kids. 

xoxo

Easter 2015

Good morning!  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend with your families.  Rowan was super sick with strep throat all weekend, so ours was spent mostly indoors trying to get him better.  At one point he felt well enough to go outside and hunt eggs, but other than that he was hanging out on the couch with his iPad.  Thankfully he is feeling better today.  Here's a look at our little Easter.

We started our weekend (when Row was still well) at his preschool for an egg hunt.

I love this little guy so much.

We had fun dying our eggs!  I bought fake eggs this year, which was a major fail.  They float, so they didn't work very well in the dye.  Rowan didn't seem to mind though.

The Easter bunny came!  And this picture made me realize it's time to spruce up the front porch...eek.

Jake, Batman, Ninja Turtles, and Sonic the Hedgehog are staples in this boy home!

Because every baby boy needs a pink Jellycat pig, a banana backpack, and another pair of moccs. That Easter bunny speaks my language...

Nana sends Easter goodies too! 

A little egg hunting help from daddy...

And that's a wrap!

I promise to start posting more regularly!  Crew Bear is having a rough time growing his little teeth and it's been a little tough for this mommy!  

See you soon!

Spring Break

It's starting to feel like SPRING! Which makes everyone in my house super excited.  We have been spending lots of our time outdoors.  Grilling, playing on the swing set, and taking walks around our neighborhood.  After a long winter, the sunshine and warmth feels awesome!

Derek and I have been experiencing life as parents to only one kid!  Rowan is in San Antonio on Spring Break with his Nana, Aunt Shelby, and his cousin.  He has been having an absolute blast!  My mom and sister pull out all the stops for these boys.  Crew and I will head down tomorrow to spend some time with my family and we will bring Row home next week.  Hooray for Spring Break! 

A little bit of what's been going on with us....

Crew has a new favorite toy.

 A little Costco trip with my guys.

...and a trip to Barnes and Noble

A dentist visit for Row.

Enjoying snuggle time with my little bear.

 I decided to update the little table and chairs we have for the kids...

 and it turned out like this!

A perfect place to practice name writing.

A walk around the neighborhood with this cool dude.

 I spend a big portion of my life pushing little boys on swings!

Playing at the mall in San Angelo.

I took this sweet girl to see Cinderella last weekend. We LOVED it!

 This is Crew's first official injury.  Cue mommy panic attack...

There is nothing better than a clean baby!

Hope everyone is enjoying their week!

xoxo

Our Week

This week in the Stephens' house...

It is COLD in Denver City!  We have had to stay indoors more that usual, and to be honest we are starting to go a little stir crazy.  I cannot wait for warmer weather!  Here's what we've been up to...

 This sweet boy is now pulling up on the furniture, our legs, and everything else you can think of! My littlest baby is growing too quickly.

 We made a stop after dinner one night at Cherry Berry for some frozen yogurt.

 We bundled up and drove the two whole blocks to visit Grandma and Poppy for a few hours.  

On Wednesday we headed to Lubbock for a well check-up with the pediatrician, some shopping, and Chic-Fil-A!

Stopping for a bottle in the middle of a store is not unusual for us...

Sometimes during the day I get bored and take 1800 pictures of my kid.  

We played out in the snow until our fingers about fell off...

Then we came inside and made snow ice cream!

Snow Ice Cream:

4 cups fresh snow

1 cup milk or cream (I used half and half)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir until blended and enjoy!

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Tonight it's pizza and game night!

I hope you all have a great weekend.  We will be hibernating inside and dreaming about summer!

xoxo

Starbucks for Life

You knew it was coming...

It's time to talk coffee, y'all.  And I don't mean just regular Folger's or whatever motor oil they serve at gas stations. I'm talking Starbucks. The one, the only. 

This green logo is like a beacon in the night, do you feel me?

Today let's break down my never-ending love for SBux and what you should be drinking from my favorite spot in the land.  

When I turned 16 and started driving myself to school, life got better in more ways than one.  I could pick up my friends, listen to Britney Spears at an unhealthy volume level, and most importantly I could drop by my local Starbucks every morning before first period.  Ahhh, to be a teenager again.  My friend, Kendall, and I would walk ourselves right in (they didn't have drive-thru back then which makes me older than I'd like to admit) and order a grande caramel macchiato. It was sweet, it was hot, it was perfect.  Before I discovered my beloved macchiatos, I was only accustomed to drinking black coffee with a dessert like key lime pie or tiramisu.  Those early morning macchiatos changed my outlook on coffee and caused Starbucks to gain a customer (and thousands of my dollars) for life.

A lot has changed over the years, but my love for that white and green cup has only grown.  

(Yes, I realize this is dramatic.)

My drink preferences have changed throughout the years, but every once in awhile I'll treat myself to my old fave from my glory days, the macchiato.  

During the summer I tend to only drink hot coffee first thing in the morning, then I switch to iced. I can't hold a steaming cup in 100 degree weather (I've tried.) But during the winter I drink them anytime of the day to keep warm and cozy.  

Here are my favorite HOT drinks:

Cinnamon Dolce Latte:

If I have a Starbucks cup in my hand, there's at least an 85% chance it is a latte of some sort.  A latte is basically expresso with steamed milk and a flavored syrup. You really can't go wrong with a latte. Cinnamon dolce latte's are the bomb dot com.  I love them.  If I'm not ordering cinnamon dolce, I ask for hazelnut or vanilla.  Unless it's Fall and then it's ALWAYS pumpkin spice, and if it's winter it's almost always gingerbread.

If you are watching your calories, order it with nonfat milk and no whip cream to save over 100 calories.  But if you AREN'T dieting, enjoy your whipped cream while I hate you from afar.  Just kidding. 

The Flat White:

This is a new favorite of mine.  I discovered it during a trip to Target where I always, 100 million percent stop at Starbucks to fuel up for mindless shopping at The Dollar Spot and to make the fact that one of my kids is going to have a meltdown a little easier to cope with.  Cheers! I have to admit that I don't know exactly what The Flat White is, but it includes expresso and milk so it's a win for me.  If you love sweet drinks, this probably isn't the one for you.  But if you are an expresso fein like me you will love it.   

Americano:

I'll be honest about this one...I only drink Americanos when I'm watching my calorie intake.  This is just expresso with water, and I usually add a splash of milk to make it a little more tolerable.  It's definitely not my favorite drink, but if I need an afternoon pick-me-up and I've just eaten or something I'll grab an Americano.  

Doppio:

Warning: Doppios are not for the faint of heart! This is the hard stuff!  If I'm feeling super zombie-like and don't want to carry around a big drink, then I'll grab a doppio, which is just two shots of expresso in a cute little cup.  My sister, Shelby, introduced me to these during our annual Houston shopping trip. They were perfect to grab in between stores. We tend to need two hands while we shop the Galleria (we don't mess around) so a quick doppio is perfect.  

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I love Starbucks' iced options.  When the weather is warm I always crave one of these ICED drinks:

Passion Tea:

This is by far my favorite of SBux's Tazo teas.  It's naturally sweet, so I'm able to drink it plain.  Occasionally I will ask them to add a little lemonade to make it sweeter and tangy.  It's so refreshing!  I also buy Passion Tea bags to brew it at home, although for some reason it never tastes as good. It's all mental...  If you like sweeter drinks, try a Passion Tea Lemonade.  You will love it!  I've also had Passion Tea mixed with apple juice (a barista suggested it once) and it was really good.  When you order a Passion Tea they will make it sweet (by adding their classic syrup) unless you tell them not to.  It's great either way. Just try it today.  Unless you're stuck indoors because the weather is psychotic and it's snowing outside like it is here.  Today is not a good day for passion tea in West Texas.

Coffee Frappuccino:

I really am not a huge fan of super sweet drinks, so when it comes to fraps I keep it simple.  They are plenty sweet on their own, so I never add whip cream and I almost always stick to coffee fraps because I like my drinks to taste like coffee and not ice cream.  Adding whip cream makes it a dessert.  And I'm not up for dessert at 8 am.  Unless maybe when I'm on vacation.

Iced Coffee:

An oldie but a goodie, this is one of my go-to drinks.  I always ask them to add about an inch of non-fat milk and voila! Summer coffee! You can ask them to add a flavored syrup as well if you'd like some sweetness in your life. I am usually surrounded by lots of sweetness so I don't need the extra sugar in my coffee.  Ha. 

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Starbucks has a really good rewards program that I recommend you use if you like free caffeine.  Simply buy a gift card and register it on their website.  You can track all your purchases by using the Starbucks app.  It's really simple.  You earn stars for each purchase and will earn a free drink after 12 stars.  If you drink enough coffee to fill a swimming pool in a short period of time, they will send you one of these bad boys:

The Gold Card. Can I get a hallelujah? 

I jumped on the rewards bandwagon after my friend, Joanne, told me about the perks.  I owe her my life.  Or at least a cup of coffee.  

There you have it! Hope you are inspired to make a run while you're out and about today. 

What are your favorite Starbucks drinks? I would love to know!

*all coffee images belong to starbucks.com*