Currently || April Edition

I AM CURRENTLY...

Journaling and loving it. I bought a notebook from Nuuna while I was in Salzburg. I got it at this home concept store and I am such a sucker for shops with unneeded but incredibly adorable things.


Relaxing after traveling. Have you ever been to Salzburg? It's magical.


Enjoying the flower obsession on Instagram. Spring is wonderful.


And doing random Project Life spreads from past photos, but sadly NOT working on my 2016 album.

52 Project: April Update

Yes, I'm still doing the 52 Project I mentioned back in January. You would think that taking pictures once a week would be easy, but LIFE HAPPENS. No problem, though. (Remember I said before that perfection was overrated). Well, I just rearranged a few photos so that I have a picture a week.

And I decided to add weekly photos of me and Zo. Don't worry, she's smiling on the inside in these pictures.




I'm going to try and post these photos every week on Mondays to hold myself accountable. We'll see how it goes.
                    

xo,

Kais

Spring Appreciation

Spring has sprung. We have been to the park more times already this spring than all of last year. Take that 2015.

Currently || January Edition

I am currently..

reading Everything I Never Told You

watching Making a Murderer

eating Baked Oatmeal

drinking Black Coffee. I miss lattes, but I'm trying to cut back on dairy.

listening to the Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify.. which has suddenly started to only play covers much to my disliking.

enjoying free time while Zo sleeps

finishing the rest of my 2015 Project Life album

loving that Zo is becoming more confident. She took 3 steps yesterday.

feeling actually really good. My mind is clear and we are going to start next month looking for places to rent in France.

wearing a structured cotton sweater from Mango. I love it so much that I bought it in 2 colors.

hearing Zo's chatter. She talks so much. Her current word is "cat".

baking Lemon Chocolate Chip Banana Bread. I got a bunch of bananas for 50% off at the store. (edit: this was phenomenal)

using our new Fitbits. It has motivated me to also start doing home exercise videos like a boss mom.

Whole30 Update: Day 10

I successfully completed 10 days of my first Whole30. So far, I have had only positive experiences physically and mentally. Here are some things that have improved just in these 10 days:

1. More energy in the mornings. I have really noticed that I am more productive right after I wake up. I used to get my energy kick in the early afternoon, and it was almost impossible for me to "get moving" before then unless I had something important to do. Now, I see myself playing with Zoe more and we like to go to the grocery store before lunch.

2. Weight.. I know the program officially says to stay away from the scale, but I totally ditched this mantra. After 10 days, I have lost 2.5 pounds. I was already happy with my weight so this is just an added bonus to me. I really started this to help with my lack of energy. 

On Day 9 I wanted sugar badly. I was thinking of cookies and chocolate and it was a bit difficult. But every other day has been easy. I would really love to have my oatmeal back in the morning, though. I am TIRED of eggs.

Side note: I am really excited for Thanksgiving dinner. Making a Whole30 compliant festive meal is going to be really easy. We can still have turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pie (minus the crust) :)

xoxo, Kaisa 

Currently || November Edition

I am currently:

Reading: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. It is SO GOOD. It is also so difficult to read with a 10 month old. The only time I have is about 30 minutes before bed. I think I will follow along with Kellie Winnell and do 30 minutes for 30 days for myself. 

Watching: I just finished watching Season 3 of Rita on Netflix. It is a Danish TV series about a woman/mother/teacher who is opinionated and sex driven. And I highly recommend it. The only problem I've had is that I can't do anything else while watching it because of the subtitles. So nursing was the perfect time to relax and catch up on episodes. 

Eating: I am doing a Whole30 in November so I made homemade Lara bars. I urge you to make some. I put 30 g of nuts with 80 g of soft dried fruit in my Nutribullet and then molded them into bars. Fabulous. My favorite so far has been almond, coconut flakes, dates, and figs. I think I may up the nut to fruit ratio in the next batch, though. 

Thinking: That I am finally starting to feel like myself again. Becoming a mom is a strange thing. It's like losing your sense of self for awhile. Everything you have is given to your baby (and I'm not saying that's a bad thing). Basically, I'm wearing jeans and make-up again. You're welcome husband. 

Loving: My baby is now climbing on EVERYTHING. It is the greatest experience watching a baby learn new things.

Doing: Working on my Project Life backlog. I printed off all of my photos from Rossman. I really liked the quality and will be using them from now on. I was about 9 weeks behind before my pictures arrived. Now, they are all in the album. I just need to get a bit creative (i.e. find time to be creative).

Whole 30 November

Yesterday marked the start of my first Whole30. Actually, it is my first ever structured diet. I eat pretty healthy right now so I don't expect it to be too difficult. But here are some things I will miss this month:

1. Bye bye frothed milk. So sad about this. I already put my frother out of sight. 

2. Dark chocolate. I usually have a small piece after lunch. I crave chocolate and this may be difficult for me.

3. Oatmeal... yes, I am an oatmeal girl and eat it every morning. Now, I actually have to TRY in the morning. 

4. Cheese. I actually don't know how much I will miss cheese. I do love it, but I may be okay on this one. (fine print: only for a month)

So here is to a VERY healthy November. 

xoxo Kaisa

European Adventures

There is a really good reason for the long separation since my last post: VACATION. It was exactly what I needed to stir up my life and make me feel good again. Here are some pictures from the past month. We went to Augsburg, Munster, Cologne, Berlin, and Amsterdam.

Augsburg Airbnb, Neuschwanstein Castle, Füssen

Münster, Cologne, Berlin, Amsterdam

I am now back home resting from such wonderful adventures. I absolutely love this season and (of course) all things pumpkin. I hadn't had Starbucks in so long and that Pumpkin Spice Latte is much sweeter than I remembered :( But I love how Germans think I'm saying Kaiser when I say my name. It makes me feel so royal. 

xoxo, Kaisa