February Favorites
February has been such a great month! It was my second month with my sweet baby, Sienna. We lost a lot of sleep, BUT we also started getting the hang of things. Anyone who’s had a newborn knows that adaptability is the name of the game - there’s a new normal every few days, and the fun part is figuring out what it is! Here are my February favorites.
*Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links,
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
My childhood cookie recipe just isn't cutting it anymore. I don’t know if it’s the oven in our new apartment, or if I’m not remembering correctly. Either way, it was time to try a new one, and I hit the jackpot on my first try.
I found this recipe on Pinterest and these are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had! Click here for the recipe.
Postpartum Jeans
I have been dying to wear some real clothes. If you couldn’t tell, I kind of enjoy fashion. I love the freedom of creating outfits and the endless possibilities that come from that, and pregnancy and postpartum definitely squashed that for me (it was the worst side effect I had). Thankfully, at 6 weeks postpartum I found some great jeans! I got these Curvy 90s Straight Jean from Madewell. Before pregnancy, I was a size 30. Now, I’m a Curvy 31 - I think the “curvy” is basically a half size, and helps suck in my midsection.
Breakfast Routine
Our first 2 weeks of postpartum was pretty good, especially since my husband took those weeks off. We got up together in the mornings, and I would sit at our kitchen table feeding our daughter while he made us coffee and breakfast. I loved our breakfast time together, so I’m keeping to the breakfast routine even though he’s back at work.
I’ll either have a freezer prepped breakfast burrito, or a breakfast hash I made. It’s pretty simple and I used ingredients that don’t need much prep if any. I throw together diced ham, hashbrowns, mushrooms, spinach, and eggs (2). It’s a great way to get my protein in and feel full for the whole morning!
At Home Latte
Making myself an iced latte is also my favorite part of the morning. We got an affordable espresso machine (under $75) from Amazon over Black Friday, and we have used it every single day since then! I love my drinks iced, so I make a shot of espresso, add 2 ½ pumps of vanilla syrup, oat milk until the color looks right, and then ice. You know I enjoy going to coffee shops, but this at home latte is pretty comparable! It’s definitely saving me money, too.
Powershot
I’ve been wanting a powershot for a while, and I finally bit the bullet. Having a little camera with you is great, especially if you love taking photos, like, all of the time like I do. We’ve taken it on walks, to coffee shops, and restaurants. It’s inconspicuous and takes pretty great photos! It’s not quite the quality of a DSLR, but it’s better than an iPhone. Here are some pictures we took with it! The last one we tried using the flash outside - it was a fun effect!
Restaurant
For Jason’s birthday, we got ourselves some sandwiches from Lardon in Humboldt Park. Lardon is Michelin rated and we can see why! They cure their meat on site - you can taste the flavor and quality (I don’t even like meat that much and I appreciated it). Jason got the Hotel California, and I ordered the Blue Line Bhan Mi - both were extremely delicious. Their potato chips are made in house and also phenomenal! The atmosphere was cozy, intimate, and high end without any of the pretension.
Crate & Barrel Glasses
I went New Year’s Day shopping with my sister-in-law per our annual tradition, and we ate lunch at Crate & Barrel’s restaurant. We fell in love with the water glasses, and they told us they actually sell them there… and that’s how they got us to buy them. I will say, even though it was an impulse buy, I absolutely LOVE these glasses. I fill them to the brim and drink so much more water than usual. I also have my daily lattes in them. Click here if you, too, would like to make a great impulsive purchase.
Scent
I’ve been stepping out more this month now that I’m further in my postpartum journey. Since it’s still winter, I’ve been wearing Jo Malone’s Blackberry & Bay scent. I love it - it has a fresh winter fruit vibe with a bit of a pungent undertone. Everytime I wear it, Jason goes “wow, you smell good,” sometimes even hours after I put it on.
Book
This month I’ve been reading Night Music by Jojo Moyes (one of my favorite authors). This one’s about a recently widowed mother moving her children to the English countryside because her husband left her with basically no money - even though their lifestyle had told a different story. Shocked and frustrated, they somewhat unwillingly move and end up meeting interesting characters and learning about themselves.
Thanks for reading my first of *hopefully* many monthly favorites. I’d love to know what you’ve been enjoying lately.
