DIY Winter Citrus Garland

Citrus season in Arizona, hands-down, is my favorite time of year. It runs from December to April, which means not only am I eating and smelling one of my favorite tastes and smells on earth, but I also get to do it while enjoying our perfect Winter and Spring time temps!

Last year we were on a major natural kick (we still are, but most of it has become habit now, so it seems less relevant). So I decided to make all my own Christmas ornaments. I used popcorn, cranberries, and all types of citrus and I loved how it turned out so much I might have cried when we took down our sweet little tree. The citrus garland hanging on the stairs however, stayed up all year! I didn't see any reason to take down something so lovely.

So while these dehydrated citrus slices make excellent Christmas decor, I won't judge you if I walk in your house in May and see them still hanging around--you'll be in good company.

To make them, you simple pick out what citrus you'd like to use--pink grapefruit and oranges turn out best in my experience, but I've included lemons and limes in the past as well.

You then want to cut slices, not too thick or it will take a looooong time to dehydrate, but not too thin or else they'll burn (and you'll end up with some dark brown ones, like I got this year on accident--i didn't hate them though...) I'd say no more than half and inch, probably a little thinner. Pat the slices gently with a towel or napkin to absorb some of the excess moisture. Turn on your over to a low temperate around 125°. Arrange the slices onto cooling racks and put the cooling racks on cookie sheets--I recommend putting similar sized slices together so if your grapefruit take longer than you lemons, you can just removed one tray. Check on them every hour and you can flip them half way, especially if you're not using cooling racks. The house will smell so insane, you'll want to scream for all your neighbors to come take a wiff, so they can share in the euphoria that is drying citrus.

The slices should look like the majority of the moisture is gone, but not be brown (unless you want some brown ones). When you take them out, let them cool on the racks. They will still be a little tacky, but will continue to dry for the next few days. Feel free to make ornaments or a garland or window charms, whatever your heart fancies, as soon as they're cooled. They look especially beautiful hanging somewhere where they can be backlight by a window, so their colors shine through--you don't have to wait til they're bone dry to create with them!

Off to eat a grapefruit! 👋

on me:

*nursing friendly* buffalo check dress//plain jane (buy here)

sam edelman petty booties//nordstrom (one sale here)

on him:

striped onesie//j.crew old (buy similar here)

gray label organic overalls//noble carriage (buy here)

navy rainboots//c.o. western chief (buy here)

african market basket//sprouts (buy similar here)

Picnic with Stitched

I've already begun stressing about how I'm going to survive as a mother when summer hits here in Arizona. Simon and I are both happiest when we're outside exploring nature and enjoying God's creations, but when it's 115+ degrees, it's not even safe to spend more than a few minutes outside (besides the fact that it's completely miserable). But I'm trying my best to enjoy the time we still have before summer gets real. Stitched, a new custom design quilt company let me try out their service and I designed this pretty little picnic blanket, so we made the most of the cool evening temps and had a picnic on our back patio, both Simon and Poppy thought it was pretty cool and when they're happy, I'm happy :) I think this blanket will be getting a lot of use!

If you like the quilt I designed or have a design idea of your own, be sure and check out their kickstarter here and see how you can customize your own.

And please share tips how surviving the heat with a kid!

custom puzzle from this & that etc.//Simon's linen romper found here, moccs found here

Unicorn Season is Here!

Happy Spring everyone! We're already hitting temps in the 90s, so it feels like most people's summers round here! I'm not complaining! Spring or as I like to call it, Unicorn Season is my all time favorite here in Arizona. Everything is flowered up and I'm spending as much time as I can outdoors with my little explorer, Simon. I don't know what I'm going to do when it gets to hot to sit out in the grass all day, it's where he's happiest, and in turn, where I'm happiest too! Guess we'll have to plan lots of trips to cooler weather! Where do you live and when's the best place to be there?!

wearing:
cactus print swimmer//kortni jeane (buy here)
boater hat//forever21 (similar here)
initial discs necklace//old (similar here)
lace up sandals//old navy (buy here)

Year One of Motherhood: I'd Go On Picking You.

I always remember people saying, "the first year of marriage is the hardest."

I never understood that. 

Marriage came very naturally to Marcus and I. It was just like one day we got to have a really fun sleep over after wanting to have a really fun sleep over for a long time and then we spent the next year living with our best friend and it was just kind of awesome. 

Was it perfect? Did we ever get annoyed or disappointing in each other, I'm sure we did, but overall, I did not share the "first year is the hardest" sentiment. The following 4 years were similar to the first. Yes, some of the newlywed novelty had worn off and there were more annoyance and disappointments, but still I did not find marriage to be something I'd tack in the difficult category. 

Then we had a baby.

Wow.

The first few weeks were physically..."challenging" just really doesn't encompass it, they were excruciating. My body was traumatized by delivery and I was so exhausted from sleep deprivation, I didn't know how I would ever function again. Marcus was wonderful and seeing him care for me and for our new sweet baby boy was overwhelming. I don't think I've ever felt more loved or loved him more. But time went on and I began to heal and could take care of myself again. He was back at work and while physically things were getting somewhat easier, emotionally they were not so fun. 

I felt a little crazy because I was obsessed with my baby and I was so proud that my body was functioning so well to produce tons of healthy milk that Simon loved, but I was nursing around 20 times a day. Basically all day and all night I had a baby connected to me and I was losing my mind. I accomplished nothing. I was rarely getting ready, we almost never ate at home, I never worked out, I think we went on 2 or mayyyybe 3 dates without Simon in 12 months. Even though Marcus tried to be helpful, I wanted and needed him to do more. I didn't know how he could do more, but I needed him to figure it out, the problem was Simon relied on me for food, comfort, and sleep. He could do none of those things without me. (He was exclusively BF for around 9 months, he didn't take a paci and he hated to be put down, no bouncy or swing we tried worked, we co-slept until he could crawl and he'd only sleep attached to me. Once we moved him to a crib, he still would only nurse to sleep...) And so deep down the emotional side of me felt mad that I didn't have any time to myself. I was mad at Marcus for not sharing equal responsibility. I was mad at my mom for not being one of those really involved grandmas. I was even mad at Simon sometimes for being a high-needs baby. All the while, the logical side of me knew that the way I wanted to raise Simon for his first year, didn't really allow any of those people to do anything much differently.

So, while I'm sure you're hoping I am going tell you all the things YOU can do differently to not experience what I did or what I'll do differently next time around, here's the conclusion I will give you instead. Motherhood is hard. The first year is hard. And...

It all passes.

Your baby turns one. 

They start sleeping through the night or close to it.

They start sleeping in their own bed instead of yours (Simon around 8 months).

They stop needed to nurse so frequently.

They start being able to play in the shower while you take a quick one most days.

They start being able to sit and play with blocks or look through board books while you quickly swipe on some makeup (at least a couple times a week to remind yourself that you can still look pretty if you really want to.)

Serious Cold and Flu season ends and you get brave enough to bring them to the gym kids care so you can be alone for an hour and take a fun work out class--and it feels amazing.

They learn to walk and interact with other kids and so you can sit outside and neighborhood friends will come by and entertain them for a few minutes so you don't have to, and it feels good, even if it's just for 3 minutes. 

They still may not say a word, but they learn to point and make noises that mean something and it's really fun.

They've been cute the whole time, but somehow they get even cuter.

They'll still drive you crazy. Sometimes you'll still feel mad. Sometimes you'll still want more alone time than you get. Sometimes your husband still won't be as helpful as you wish and sometimes you'll still be a little too much of a control freak. But you find ways to connect again, and getting more sleep allows you to reason a little better and be grateful that in that whole year they didn't complain about the fact that you ate out almost every night or that you didn't get ready as often as you once did, and turns out you still really like the person you married.

Motherhood is still hard. It is so hard.

But life gets better. And right when it gets better, something will come up and it will get hard again, but this time you'll have had a little stretch of better and you can do this.

That's the biggest conclusion I've come to after a year of parenting.

You can do this.

And it keeps getting better.

Simon's Shirt here

• photos by KNW Photography