Quote of the Week

Lent

Do you observe Lent?  Guess what I'm giving up this year...

Social media (with the exception of blogging)...  Yep.  No Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc. for 40 days.  It's kind of liberating actually.  I deleted both apps from my phone and slowly my browser history is replacing those sites from my favorites composite.  I did remind a dear friend of mine who is 39 weeks pregnant to please text or call me when she has her baby since I may miss any other media related announcements!

Funnily enough, I've been getting these emails from facebook that read "You've missed out all all of these notifications that read something to the effect of "Here's what you've missed!  Random person commented on your random acquaintance's post!"  Haha.  

Do you observe Lent? If so, what are you giving up or doing for these 40 days?

image/bloom

My Favorite Things: Modern Friction Exfoliator

In an effort to get back in the swing of blogging, I'm reviving an oldie but goodie series - my favorite things.  Think of this as the budget-friendly, working mom version of Oprah's favorite things episode.  Today's favorite thing - a dynamite exfoliator!  My fave is Modern Friction by Origins - another natural ingredient, that boasts all paraben-free products. 

As someone who used the drug stores favorite St. Ives Apricot Scrub for most of my teenage and collegiate life, I wasn't terribly worldly in the world of skin care.  But after reading an article that essentially said my beloved apricot scrub was abrasive and actually harming my skin.  Modern friction on the other hand is gentle but effective at sloughing off dead skin, and doesn't leave my skin feeling dry or prone to break-outs - always a plus!  

Click for a few other Origins favorites...

Movie Review: American Sniper

Truth: I don't love war movies.  I'm more of a romantic comedy kind of girl - but every now and then, I can be persuaded.  As was the situation with American Sniper.  My husband had heard it rave reviews from colleagues and suggested we go see it.  My mom was already babysitting and feeling the weight of our long days, we opted for a casual dinner at a local Mexican restaurant followed by a movie night.

I couldn't stop thinking about this movie for 24 hours after we saw it.  First, Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller are phenomenal, as is the supportive cast, and I'm not historically a Bradley Cooper fan.  American Sniper flows well, the story is told across sniper Chris Kyle's four tours in Iraq, from meeting his wife to the aftermath of surviving post-war with PTSD. It is emotional, intense, poetic, and terribly tragic all at the same time.  Of course the film did include plenty of gunfire, grit, and raw imagery that typically dissuades me from such films, but nothing was gratuitous, everything was intentional and profound.  I found myself googling about the real Chris and Taya Kyle afterwards, reading about their story, and even placed Chris Kyle's autobiography (which the movie was based upon) on my queue at the library.  And this for a movie I didn't even really want to see in the first place.

image/liveforfilms

The Pie Project: #2 - Apple Pie

So I'm trying to pick up where I last left off with my Pie Project goal to bake 30 pies in an attempt to "memorize" the pie making process.  Last Saturday was the perfect occasion to kick back into pie-making gear, as we hosted 19 friends and 4 kids for a belated Friendsgiving.  Collectively we had a potluck with all kinds of goodness, and my contribution was Joy the Baker's apple pie with her cold butter pie crust.  It turned out pretty fantastic, I was happy to receive some rave reviews! 

Past pies * one

image/joythebaker

Last Great Book I Read

The Boys in the Boat - have you read it? Perhaps I'm partial being a University of Washington alum myself (the setting for this true story).  Also, I did have a brief stint on the UW Women's Novice Crew team, so I can literally picture where much of their rowing occurs.  The author weaves much of the story through the lens of one of the oarsmen from the epic boat, Joe Rantz.  Joe's difficult childhood and upbringing cast a light onto what life looked like for some in the early 1930's in rural Washington.  The author also does an exceptional job of depicting a pre-depression Seattle (fun to read as a Seattleite).  

He goes on to describe the other eight oarsmen and coxswain, and describe the genuine trust and camaraderie these boys were able to harness together to fulfill their dreams.  I love a good sports story, and this book captures the heart and spirit of these athletic, strong-willed, and lion-hearted individuals in their quest for success.  Cons: there is a lot of crew jargon, which at times is tedious, however, the overall book is a solid read.  One of those books I wanted to make time to finish, always a good sign, right?

Coolest High School Teacher Ever

Where was this teacher when I was in high school?  My colleagues and I joked we should attempt our own elementary rendition of this dance at our end of the year assembly (only to top our flash mob of "Happy" at last years).  Only time will tell...