Happy Sunday! I hope you all are enjoying your weekend! I got a workout in today before church, and I’m just taking care of a bunch of weekend chores today. For dinner tonight, I’m making this chimichurri sauce which I’m excited about! As we’re inching closer to spring weather, I’m craving fresh and bright flavors.

WHAT WE ATE

my plan is to share the meals I made the previous week, with links if possible, as some inspiration for your own menu planning.

MONDAY: Creamy Mushroom Soup and chopped salad- I made this chopped salad but it was very tangy. I’m not sure I’d make it again, unless I tried this version with honey.

TUESDAY: dinner with friends (they made yummy tri-tip with roasted sweet potatoes and a kale salad with parmesan. so good and definitely some future dinner inspiration.)

WEDNESDAY: Taco Bowls

THURSDAY: Coconut Green Curry Snapper Bowls (from Simply Real Eating)- this is definitely a keeper of a recipe! It was so easy and delicious.

FRIDAY: birthday party dinner

SATURDAY: Roast Chicken with sauteed mushrooms and leftover chopped salad (this was such an easy dinner and it was fun to try a different method of making chicken. Matthew was a big fan of this with mushrooms instead of the lemon)

WHAT I WORE

We’ve had several days of beautiful blue skies which has me reaching for dresses. I have to pair them with cardigans to stay warm but it’s making me look to spring with lots of anticipation!

Don’t forget I have an exclusive promo for Walli Cases. Use code MARA10 for 10% off! Check out other exclusive deals I have for you here.

My favorite pearl earrings from Katie Dean are almost sold out. They would make such a sweet gift too!

If you’re looking for the best eyebrow pencil, I keep going back to this one from Lancome. It’s truly the best and lasts forever!

SALES TO NOTE

Anthro is having a huge extra 40% off their sale section. I always love taking a peek at their home deals especially!

Take an extra 30% off Gap’s sale section with code MORE or 40% off sweats and tees. Some favorites include this black dress, this rib knit dress, this boyfriend cardigan, and this pair of gray denim. Oh and this white distressed pair is super cute too!

There’s a fun Mystery Sale going on at LOFT. When I clicked on it, I got 40% off! Here are some picks: this striped boyfriend sweater, an anorak jacket, a happy striped shirt for spring, and a classic boatneck sweater.

Here’s a secret code: 30% off anything on Kate Spade with code BLOOM.

ON MY MIND

I made a cute heart sourdough loaf for Valentine’s Day! I keep meaning to do an updated sourdough post so I’ll have to add that to my list. I’m happy I’ve been able to keep up with these weekly posts but I’d love to sprinkle some other ones in too.

I bought this cute berry bowl at Target which I didn’t know how much I needed. It’s the perfect size for holding strawberries and washing them easily. I also love that it’s pretty enough to put on the table, where my kids will be ready to devour all the berries!

If you’re looking for a good gift for a girlfriend, I recently gifted this belt bag which my friend has LOVED! There’s something so convenient about having a hands-free bag option.

I forgot how good this concealer is! It literally covers everything! 

Valentine’s Day with kids is always so fun! I’m going to give them little Valentine’s telling them some of the many things I love about them. I also love to include as many heart-shaped foods as possible. We’re going to start with heart-shaped waffles for breakfast, heart-shaped pb&js for lunch, and heart-shaped pizza for dinner! I’d love to know if you have any special Valentine’s Day traditions!

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day week everyone!

xox

Happy Sunday! I hope you all are enjoying your weekend! It’s cloudy and drizzly today and I’m sitting down to write with an iced coffee while the kids play “quietly” during their quiet time. Matthew was in Salt Lake City this weekend so I’ve been taking advantage of lots of cleaning and a huge pile of laundry. I also changed my sheets which is always such a nice way to start the week. Here’s a little of what we were up to this past week.

WHAT WE ATE

my plan is to share the meals I made the previous week, with links if possible, as some inspiration for your own menu planning.

MONDAY: Bolognese Pasta

TUESDAY: Ginger Garlic Chicken Noodle Soup (one of Augustine’s favorites)

WEDNESDAY: Taco Bowls (adjusted our usual Taco Tuesday for Augustine’s soup request)

THURSDAY: Mustard Salmon (this recipe is one of our favorites) with salad

FRIDAY: Balsamic Steak Salad with Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing  (this was so delicious! The first thing Matthew said is that it could be served at a restaurant. I have to agree! We used blue cheese instead of gorgonzola and it was still so yummy!)

SATURDAY: cacio e pepe for the kids and a big salad for me with leftover salmon and leftover blue cheese dressing

WHAT I WORE

Have I shared this rib-knit nursing dress with you? It’s so soft and comfortable and one of my favorite nursing pieces. I would buy it in another color if I could!

I got this ergobaby carrier and while I didn’t love it for Beatrice as a newborn, I’ve been loving it now. It’s so soft, like a fabric carrier, but has the support with the buckles. The off-white color frequently sells out but keep an eye on it. It’s also available here in some other colors too!

This Amazon dress was a favorite during my pregnancy and it’s been fun to wear without the bump. I sized up according to the recommendation and I got the beige-2 color. It’s so pretty and comes in a bunch of colors.

SALES TO NOTE

I picked up some jean options on sale since I can’t fit into my pre-baby ones just yet. I thought I would try some different straight leg styles including this vintage slim pair, this medium wash, and this classic style. I’ll report back on the keeper! All were on sale plus an additional 10% off with code ADDIT.

ON MY MIND

February 1st started the 75 Hard Challenge for me and Matthew. He’s doing it with some men in our neighborhood and a lot of the wives decided to join in to help motivate them. We’re doing a slightly modified version because it’s a little intense. You’re supposed to go on a structured diet (any diet you want but it has to include no alcohol), work out 2x a day for 45 minutes with one workout being outdoors, drink a gallon of water, and read 10 pages of non-fiction. There are no cheat days and you go for 75 days. If you mess up you’re technically supposed to start back at Day 1. We’re modifying this somewhat with 1 workout 5 days a week and my diet is basically no refined sugar, no alcohol, and low carbs. I’m not trying to be too intense with my diet because I’m still nursing and I don’t want to negatively affect my milk supply. With those limitations though I still feel like I’ll be focusing on clean eating. As you will notice, we got in a few last carb-heavy meals on Monday and Tuesday. So far it’s going well and I’m enjoying my off-workout day. I got a new cookbook, Simply Real Eating, that has a bunch of great healthy recipes that I can’t wait to try.

Corinna’s birthday is coming up and she wants to have a heart-themed party, which is perfect considering Valentine’s Day is around the same time. I’m trying to brainstorm some fun activities for the girls to do, maybe decorating sugar cookie hearts or doing a heart craft. I think I need to make a trip to Target/Hobby Lobby/Michael’s for ideas!

I always get questions about my heatless waves so I wanted to share some info with you about it. I use the Sway which is a heatless velour curling ribbon. It makes getting ready so much easier because I can put in on at night and take it out in the morning. I personally find it very easy to use and I love the waves I get the next morning. It’s comfortable enough for me to sleep in because it’s just a fabric roll. The only downside is that the curls don’t last more than a day, but I feel like that’s still worth it for a less damaging hair curling method. You can use code MARAFERREIRA for 10% off. They even have a kid size too which I’ll have to get for the girls one day!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

xox

Happy Sunday! Unfortunately this past week we were all sick (first of the season) but thankfully we’re all on the mend and feeling so much better. One thing that is always tough when I’m sick is losing a lot of my interest and motivation to cook. Then once I was feeling better, Beatrice was sick and I basically held her for 24 hours straight which made cooking a bit of a challenge. Our meals were very pulled together but we survived! Some weeks are like that.

WHAT WE ATE

my plan is to share the meals I made the previous week, with links if possible, as some inspiration for your own menu planning.

MONDAY: Thai takeout because we were not feeling well

TUESDAY: Slow Cooker Carnitas Tacos

WEDNESDAY: Soup and Salad

THURSDAY: leftovers

FRIDAY: Carroty Mac and Cheese (so proud of sneaking grated carrots into the kids’ food unnoticed!)

SATURDAY: special take-out night from our favorite pizza place (Wylder in Boise)

WHAT I WORE

hmm my sick uniform was not very glamorous but I have to do a call out on my favorite eberjey pajamas. They’re comfortable and so soft! I also love Lake pajamas, and we used to have sets for the kids that we loved too!

Corinna and Augustine got their Kidpik spring box which they’re always so thrilled to receive! Corinna got the most darling cornflower blue tee shirt and sweater that she put on immediately. I believe you can use my code MARA to get 50% off your first box and 25% off shop purchases.

SALES TO NOTE

J.Crew is having a 30% off sale plus and extra 50% off sale items!

LOFT has 30% off New Arrivals plus 40% off an adorably curated Valentine’s Day shop.

ON MY MIND

Our abnormal January weather has me looking forward to spring gardening. I got this book, The Backyard Homestead, and spent a lot of time looking through it this week. It was really inspiring to see what you can grow even with smaller spaces. One day I would love to be able to raise chickens, have fruit trees, berry bushes, maybe even bees!

Matthew is doing the 75 Hard challenge starting February 1st which includes a 45-minute workout a day, a diet of choice, drinking a gallon of water a day, and reading 10 pages of nonfiction a day for 75 days. I’m going to try to join him as well because it’s always helpful when you have extra support. Because we’ll be doing no sugar (for me I’ll make an exception for Corinna’s birthday), I made a new Levain copycat cookie recipe. Matthew and I love the Levain bakery in NYC which reminds us of our early dating days! Of all the Levain copycat recipes I’ve tried, I think this one by Modern Honey might still be my favorite.

I saw these jeans the other day and I can’t wait to be in a stable size to buy them. I LOVE that they’re not a blue shade but the color is neutral enough to go with SO much, and I can pair it with a blue denim jacket!

Corinna had her first ballet class this week and it was ADORABLE! She loved it so much and can’t wait to officially start. We’re doing a few trial classes at local studios this week to find the right fit but, in the meantime, she’ll be dancing around the house in her leotard and tutu!

Getting out on a walk when we were starting to feel better was so nice! Baby Beatrice and I were bundled up in somewhat matching beanies which was too cute!

I hope you all stay well this week!

xox