Hey there, friends! I hope this month has been kind to you. The truth of it is, April was a bit of a doozy for us — our entire household came down with Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease and it was awful. I am so happy to be on the other side of it now and urge you to avoid it at all costs.
On a happier note, the weather has started to improve so we’ve been able to spend more time outside. I’m so appreciative of having indoor play place options, but sometimes you just need some sunshine on your face and a breeze in your hair, you know?
That said, we had super crummy weather for Easter (which we mostly use as an excuse to celebrate the arrival of spring) so I ended up just putting together an indoor egg hunt for Sophie. It was pretty fun to have two Easter baskets to fill this year! I hope you had a nice Easter, if you celebrate.
Today’s Five Things are items that have piqued my interest or things that have been on my mind / going on in my life recently!
GRANOLA BUTTER
Sophie’s school is nut-free so I’ve been trying to find some different sandwich fillers for her lunchbox. Maybe I’m late to the game, but these granola butters feel like such a well-kept secret! I’m here to break the gatekeeping. 🤭
I ordered a variety pack of these nut-free spreads so that we could try a few flavors out. So far, we’ve only tried the original which tastes like a cinnamon-y Bischoff cookie butter; SO yum!
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Augusta National “Azalea” Cocktail
This cocktail is famous for a reason! It’s incredibly delicious and only requires a few ingredients. Whether you’re watching the Masters golf tournament or just using the event as an excuse to have some snacks with friends, this is THE drink:
— Ice
— 1.25 oz vodka
— 0.5 oz grenadine
— 5 oz lemonade
— Cherry & lemon wheel garnish
*Note: this drink can easily be made non-alcoholic if you’re skipping the booze; just omit the vodka!
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OUAI BEACH WAVES
The temperature has been rising and that means more air-drying of my hair! Because I have a ~2B curl pattern (read: waves) I have some texture, but it can quickly go to frizz without the right products and tools.
First, I make sure my hair is pretty wet post-shower — if my hair starts to dry before I get a chance to style it, I use my misting spray bottle to re-wet it.
Then I use my curl clumping brush to help smooth-but-separate my waves. I apply the Ouai Wave Spray and scrunch it in. The new version of the Wave Spray is even better than the original… adds texture without drying it out and making it crunchy.
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TEACHER APPRECIATION GIFT
This is our first year of school so this is also our first year gifting Sophie’s education team! I wanted a fun way to present some gift cards and I discovered these adorable sleeves on Etsy.
There are so many options to choose from, but the crayon design felt especially appropriate for preschool. We ordered the four pack of them because Sophie has one main teacher and three assistants to manage her class size so it was perfect. They’re well made and so cute!
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5 Calls App
I HATEHATEHATE being on the phone, particularly with strangers… but this app makes it so much easier to make the daily calls to your representatives to make sure that they are handling business that is important to their constituents.
If you are an anxious caller like I am, this app has made the process a LOT less daunting because I have an easy script to follow and it even provides the phone numbers for my representatives.
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I hope your April was a good one, friends!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
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