In my heart and in my cart + other things.

In My Heart -

Happy Mother’s Day in whatever capacity you enjoy the day.

Candidly, though my relationship with my mom is complicated and not particularly close, I wouldn’t say today is a hard day. My mom and I have nothing in common, which feels absurd given that we once shared a body. When I really think of it, I can’t believe we have nothing in common, but here we are. None of my five siblings are close with our mother and I think that’s really reflective of something outside our control. She’s really indifferent to us and while we’re pleasant to each other when we cross paths, but we rarely do and I’ve made peace with that.

My own approach to motherhood has been dramatically different and so on mother’s day, I really enjoy celebrating my own journey. The gift that is carrying a child inside your body. The gift that is delivering that baby safely and holding him for the first time. The gift that is those little eyes looking up at you and knowing you and trusting you and halting his cries because it’s you, his mom, the voice he’s heard for all these months.

I am so grateful to be a mother. Pregnancy and all the years of not sleeping aged me, but I love being my kids’ mom. I love meeting my kids’ friends and being introduced as Rex’s mom. PS I did not name my kiddo Rex, but you get the idea. Haha. I love folding their little clothes and knowing right now, that I’ll miss these little boxer briefs in my laundry one day. It’s a gift when you are given the wherewithal to know you’re living the good old days in the moment.

Sometimes I stand in my boys room and look around and try to memorize every inch of the walls and floor and bed. The Legos on the floor, the Spiderman sheets and the Pokemon poster on the wall. This is their childhood but this is also my motherhood and I want to remember it so well, I’ll be able to sink happily into the memories of it forever.

***

I celebrated my mother-in-law yesterday with a lovely afternoon of aperol spritzes on a patio. We had to bundle up in winter coats, but we did so happily and it was so nice. Today I’ll do my favorite things: I’m going to sit on the deck and read in the sun. I might go for a run this morning. I’ll drink a whole pot of coffee and I’ll make a nice dinner. However you enjoy Mother’s Day, I hope you have the nicest day.

In My Cart -

Snug Fit PJs for kids from Old Navy. I’m particularly beholden to the bomb-pop pattern for the 4th of July.

It’s probably criminal to give mom a kitchen apron for mother’s day, but I kind of want these for myself.

Trying out these earphones. My work issued AirPods are petering out and make some weird high pitched noises, along with static which is a big bummer, but I put some miles on those suckers so no hard feelings! TBH I was suckered in by the price point and the pretty blue color. Fingers crossed!

I got my nails done as a mother’s day gift to myself and I’ll say it is lovely to have someone else just pamper you (and also have my cuticles taken care of) but I’ll also say that I don’t think they do a better job than I can do for myself. Which is to say, it’s a nice treat! But I have this gel light machine at home and with a little practice, works beautifully for a long lasting at home manicure.

This Adidas bag is $30 today and I could cram so much stuff in here.

Versed at Target // Reporting out on a few new-to-me products from this brand that I recently purchased.

Gel Cleanser - really excellent. It suds up nicely and leaves my face clean without feeling tight or dry. I’m pretty loosey-goosey about cleanser, willing to test drive anything that looks interesting, but this is something I’ll repurchase as a go-to.
Serum Concealer - speaking of go-tos, this is my new daily driver. Decent coverage (but not thick or heavy like Shape Tape or Nars) and leaves a really nice, luminous finish. I say this as a former die-hard for Nars.
Multi-tasking Brush - I have one really amazing unbranded brush in my arsenal that I bought at TJ Maxx and I am always trying to find something just like it. This one is not it, but it is decent and effective. I’d cosign on the multi-tasking aspect, but it’s basically fine without being excellent.