Fall Bucket List | Free Printable

I don’t think it comes to any surprise to my friends and family when I say that I love Fall. Just call me”basic”, ok? My birthday is in October so I feel pretty justified in my love for the season. I have never been the person to prepare for the season. It usually comes with much anticipation and I cram as much activities in before it turns winter. With kids, I find life easier with a check-list. Okay, okay. I have always loved a good check-list. Just ask my mom and husband. I tend to go overboard with party planning lists. I created MY fall bucket list. It’s a little more tailored to what we have already planned and trips we are taking. I have included a free printable for you! Click Here to Download your FREE printable.

Fall Bucket List:

• Decorate our home

• Apple Hill!

• Make Halloween Cookies

• Crafts with Fall Leaves

• Carve Pumpkins

• Watch Hocus Pocus

• Watch Halloween Town

• Bake cinnamon rolls

• Watch scary movies

• Eat Halloween Candy

• Buy/make Halloween Costumes

• Trick- Or- Treat with the kids

• Go to the pumpkin patch

• Drink Hard Apple Cider

• Wear my favorite flannel

• Drink a hot mocha

• Eat as many Caramel Apple Suckers as I want

• Burn fall scented candles

• Attend Butterly Parade in Pacific Grove

• Celebrate Fall birthdays

• Listen to Halloween music

• Leggings and a sweatshirt because it’s cold enough

Saying Farewell to Summer | Michael David Winery

This summer we have been enjoying a lot of park days, grabbing iced coffee and bagels in the mornings, and scootering in the front yard.  I’m such an Autumn loving person so I am usually really excited to see summer go. I just hang my Fall wreath and never look back.

I decided to give Summer a proper send off this week and took the kids to Michael David Winery in Lodi to play on their playground and to cut some flowers. This is only our second time to the winery during the summer months but it’s a lot of fun. They allow you to  trim flowers for a ridiculously cheap price. I always let Sawyer choose the flowers and “help” cut them. Moses tends to just wander around and I pretty positive he ate a few flowers this time. 

The play structure at the winery is incredible. We go well before wine tasting hours and usually bring an iced coffee and some snacks to enjoy. There are picnic tables and even a few roosters that the kids insist on saying ‘hi’. 

This summer we celebrated Moses turning one. We learned a lot of lessons like, don’t push brother, and had an unforgettable trip to Disneyland. There are always some in between bits to every season. I know we have plenty of 90 degree whether (thanks California Fall) but I am thankful to be moving onto crisp days. 

My New Favorite Fall Accessory | JORD Watches

If you’re a fashion or accessory lover this blog is for you! 

I am so excited to have partnered up with JORD. They make watches that are a sophisticated mix of natural, and largely reclaimed materials, combined with quality movements and components. They’re unreal. 

Jord makes wood watches, Apple Watch bands, and have leather band watches as well. They’re perfect for casual wear or to dress up a Fall look.

Timing is everything to me. I’m always frantic looking for my phone to check the time to make sure we aren’t running behind. So needless to say adding this watch to my life is a breath of fresh air. 

Compared to others I've seen, this wood watch stands out in terms of quality + craftsmanship + style. It’s perfect for every season, but I’m most excited to add this to my Fall wardrobe. 

I’ve been wearing this watch for about a week now and it has held up just great! It also helps that it is stunning. 

With all of this said, I am giving away $100 to on of YOU, to spend with JORD! Click here to enter. 

Picture above is the Cassia in zebra and ivory. It is so neutral and versatile. I love the gold accents to dress up a casual look. I love that it matches so many outfits. You can also engrave and personalize your watch which makes it a great gift! 

Win this piece of art, I mean watch here!

Wooden Wrist Watch Mens Wooden Watches

Disneyland with Toddlers

Disneyland is by far more magical with kids than I ever expected. Sure I’ve been to Disneyland with my nephews and friends kids. But introducing my own kids to all of the Magic was the best. Sawyer is at the perfect age where she believes everything is real. We road the Jungle Cruise and I definitely think she believed the animals and village people were legit. We partied pretty hard and stayed late at the park each night. Most nights we didn’t get to bed until 11pm. Totally worth it. 

My favorite thing about this trip was Sawyer meeting all of her favorite princesses. Pro Tip: look on the Disneyland app for locations and times the characters will be out and about. Sawyer loved watching the fireworks and sang along to all of her favorite songs. Talk about heart melting.

Disclaimer* about half way through writing this blog I realized there is a lot to cover about Disneyland and toddlers so I’ll be writing a separate blog about what we brought / packed. Now moving on...

Sawyer is 2 1/2 and is still pretty short. So all the rides she road had to have no height requirements. You’d think that would limit us a lot but she actually got to go on a ton of rides we love as well. We were at the park for two days and had a lot of ground to cover. We tried getting in as many rides but also taking on account we had two small kids with us and they needed to take breaks. This trip was pretty special and we got to go with Aaron’s cousin Andrew, Stacey, and her kiddos. Most magical thing of the trip... Andrew proposed to Stacey in front of the castle on the first morning. 

Rides both Sawyer and Moses got to enjoy:

• King Arthur Carousel 

• Dumbo

• Snow Whites Scary Adventures

• It’s a Small World

• Tea Cups

• Alice in Wonderland

• Pirates of the Caribbean

• Jungle Cruise

• Haunted Mansion

• Winnie the Pooh

• Tarzan’s Tree House

• Little Mermaid

• Monsters Inc

• Toy Story Mania

Shows and Character interactions:

• Fireworks

• Main Street Electrical Parade

• World of Color

• Royal Hall: Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella 

• Animation Studio: Anna , Elsa

Disneyland with two kids under the age of three is a whole new ball game. Long gone are the days of getting to just bring my small “Disneyland” purse and Minnie Mouse ears. It takes a lot of prep if you’re coming from out of town. 

Tips for Disneyland with Toddlers / Babies:

• Snacks- Bring lots of them. You’ll not only save money on brining your own snacks. But you’ll avoid a lot of meltdowns if you let them snack while waiting in line for a ride

• Double stroller- Even if you don’t use a double stroller regularly at home. You’ll want one in the park. Disneyland comes with a lot of walk and they’re legs will get tired. But you can also move a lot quicker if you can push them where you need to go.

• Take a break- Both days we left the park after lunch time and let the kids nap (or not nap in Moses case). The refresh was worth it. I used this time to shower, repack snacks if needed, and grab a sweatshirt for when we watch fireworks/ or a parade.

• Free water.- Bottles of water in the park are priced so high. Every restaurant will. Give you free iced water.

• Baby Care Centers- There are one in each park. They are so handy. They have things like diapers or anything you forgot or ran out of. They also have chairs to breastfeed in and high chairs with trays to feed your baby.

• Go with another family or adults. Having extra adults around helps with the kids but also makes it possible for you to sneak away to enjoy a big kid ride while the kids nap in the stroller or enjoy another ride

• Meals- Disneyland offers a lot of “window” food buying options but I think the kids and us enjoyed our time more when we actually sat down to eat.

• Mobile order food- Download the Disneyland app prior to your trip. You can mobile order food and it saves so much time. While walking over from your ride or while waiting in line,’order what you want from a nearby restaurant. Once you have arrived select “I’m here” on the app and they’ll get your food out in minutes.

Visit Pacific Grove

My parents moved to Pacific Grove, CA over a year ago. It’s been so much fun visiting them in a place we already had so many memories growing up. Visiting them over the last year it has been so much fun making more memories and not to mention making memories with my little family. 

For the past two years we have celebrated my birthday by attending the Butterfly Bazaar and Parade my nephews participate in. If you didn’t know, Pacific Grove is known for their abundance of Monarch Butterflies. Every fall they celebrate the return of the Monarch in October and it has easily become my favorite way to celebrate my birthday. It has a very Stars Hallow vibe - I love it a lot.

This trip we went to hang with my family before my nephews start school in August. We spent time at the beach which Sawyer loved and was very brave to get in the ice cold water. We made our way to Cannery Row on Friday and shopped. My parents even watched the kids while Aaron and I got our first date night since our anniversary in April. Before we went back to the 100 + heat we took the kids to the Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey. It was our first time and it definitely lives up to the hype. 

Some of my favorite things while traveling to PG. 

• Stop at Casa De Fruta. What started as a fruit stand has turned into a full on attraction over the decades and is perfect for restless toddlers.

• My favorite beach in Pacific Grove is hands down Lover’s Point. It’s a small cove that is great for kids and families to enjoy the sun when it peaks out in the afternoon. When it’s “off season” it’s quiet in the mornings. 

• The Grill at Lovers Point- amazing for a quick treat of when you forgot to pack a picnic for the beach. Be sure to bring cash. 

• Monterey Bay Aquarium is definitely a must if you’re looking for something to keep you entertained all afternoon. 

• Revival Ice Cream. We stopped there after grabbing dinner at Alvarado Street Brewery (a definite favorite as well), and it’s so incredible. They have vegan options and even vegan ice cream cones. 

• Dennis the Menace Park for kids of all ages. There is really something for everyone! My kids are 2 1/2 years old and 12 months old and they both played so much and were sad to leave.

It’s always hard to drive back to the Central Valley summer. Pacific Grove is crisp and cool in the Summer time making it perfect for escaping the heat. 

Meal Time | Raised Real

Prepping meals for your family can be challenging when you need to make sure there are items that are perfect to make into finger food for the babes. We have been using Raised Real for about a week and are loving it! 

A little story time

When Sawyer was first born I was pretty adamant that she would never be eating puréed food from a jar. So from the beginning I was chopping, steaming, and puréeing her food. I started with avocado and worked my way to sweet potatoes. I was going so strong until one day while she was napping I was busy in the kitchen prepping dinner for myself and my husband. I nearly forgot to bake the sweet potato for her dinner. I frantically got it prepped in the oven. I kid you not, this sweet potato was never going to be ready. Looking at the clock I realized it wouldn’t be ready in time. I opened the fridge to select and avocado to mash. All the avocados weren’t ripe enough. I was frantic. I was a new mom and had no food prepared for Sawyer’s dinner. Going down to the wire - as soon as she woke from her nap I loaded her into the car thinking “I’ll buy an avocado that’s ripe”. Feeling very defeated at all my attempts at the sweet potato earlier that afternoon I gave up and loaded the cart with jars and jars of baby food. That was my “solids” journey with Sawyer. We ended up doing jars until she could do finger foods. It ended up being great and she loved it. 

This time around with my second baby I didn’t even try to make my own food. As a mom of two we survive off crock pot meals, and weekly meal prepping. A few months ago I found a company called Raised Real. They prepare organically-sourced baby food and it’s delivered right to your door! I wish I had found Raised Real sooner because it’s a real life saver. These meals can be cooked in 5-6 mins each. As of now Moses is 12 months old and eating all finger foods. But if I were to have used this service from day one of starting solids, I could have easily steamed and puréed the pre-made meals super quick. Way easier than the hour long sweet potato that never cooked in my early mom days. They prepare meals with your babies growth stages in mind and give you detailed information on the nutrients they provide. 

Using Raised Real frees up my mind to not have to worry about prepping lunch and dinner. I just take it out of the freezer, steam it on the stovetop, and in minutes it’s done. I’m telling you these meals are incredible. Moses has loved them! They smell delicious and I even sneak a few bites as I’m preparing them for him. 

I’m super excited to partner with this company! They are kind enough to give $20 off the 24 meal box for the first 25 orders made using the code: STEPHRUNNING20 at checkout!

Moses’ First Birthday

We blinked and our little Moses turned one. You add so much happiness to our days and make our family so full. 

Honesty moment - I definitely cried in the ultrasound room when they told us we were having a boy. Aaron literally jumped so high out of his seat with joy. I was so excited and also paralyzed with fear because I had no idea what I was going to do with all the boy things in my life. I just always imagined us having two girls. I know I know. Super crazy and selfish sounding. But God is good and the moment I heard his cries in the hospital delivery room, I wept and clung to him and I’m never turning back. 

God knew exactly what he was doing when he knit you together in my womb. He was piecing together your amazing red hair, sweet personality, and trouble making ways. 

You taught me so much about being a mom this year. I learned that no two babies are the same. You have a very quiet and calm personality. You are cautious and daring at the same time. This winter I learned to fight for your health in ways I wish I didn’t have to. Sleeping for three nights in the hospital pediatrics while you were only 7 months old was so surreal. I’ve never felt more protective and helpless at the same time. 

You give the best kisses, and sister is your best friend. You sing “Go Go Go” anytime a song comes on. The result of having an older sister obsessed with the movie Frozen. You go by lots of names “mo” “momo” “‘mr. momo”. You’re a true introvert and prefer home and quiet time. I’m in denial you’re already one. Happy birthday baby boy. 

All photos by Erik Johansson

Dermastamping with MAUDE

Since becoming a mom I’ve suddenly felt a sense of urgency to be proactive with my Skincare. Before I was just washing my face and using a simple moisturizer. Being very “ignorance is bliss” about it all. If you’re reading this and you’re in your early twenties start now, don’t wait. Alas, I can’t go back so pressing on and doing all the things to keep it taken care of. 

Over the last few years I started researching brands and ended up even becoming a Beautycounter consultant. But this isn’t what this blog is about so I’ll save all the Beautycounter praises for another time. 

In my research I saw so many women talking about the dermaroller and I thought I would have to spend a fortune to even try it. I was also not willing to put harmful chemicals on my skin after spending so much time learning about their affects on our skin. 

In my Google searches and vigorous Instagram scrolling I found a brand called MAUDE. They specialize in creating serums made specially for the dermastamp and dermaroller. And guess what? It’s actually affordable. I ended up going with the dermastamp and a few serums to try. From what I’ve learned, the derma stamp actually goes into your skin more precise that the roller and is more affective. I’ve been using the derma stamp for about a month now and I can see a change in the fine lines around my eyes, softer “smile lines” and even the crease on my forehead. Below are my before and after photos from just the short time using the products.

AFTER

BEFORE

MAUDE does an incredible job on educating their customers in care and how to use the dermastamp and dermaroller properly. I’m not going to lie, I was a little nervous my first time around. I’m not a needle girl and the idea of small needles going into my skin wasn’t exactly exciting. I read somewhere that Jennifer Aniston does derma rolling and we all know we’d go to great lengths to get her kind of skin. I’m happy to report. It super painless and is way easier than I originally anticipated. Check out my “how to video” here.

I’ve been using the Collagen Firming Serum and Eye Serum . I love that the brand is cruelty free and doesn’t use any harmful ingredients. You guys, the eye serum has actual gold flakes in it and it makes me feel like a queen. Derma stamping is hands down a new staple in my skin care routine. 

Embracing the Era of Micro-Influencers

If you’ve been on any social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the past year then you’ve probably noticed an influx of giveaways and product reviews on your feed. You can thank micro- influencers for this.

What’s a micro-influencer? A micro-influencer can be someone who has 1,000 to 100,000 followers on a social platform. Both the micro-influencer and brand benefit in these scenarios. It’s “word of mouth” marketing for the social era. These people provide (in most cases) genuine positive reviews of products, restaurants, brands etc.

If you own a business or simply spent any time on the business side of things you know marketing is important. As a company, it can take hours upon hours connecting and engaging with followers to build a personable relationship via social media. That’s where micro-influencers have settled in. They can engage with your fan base on a level you can’t. They spend hours during the day responding to Instagram DM’s, host product giveaways and give their followers a glimpse into their personal lives.

You don’t have to be a large company or brand to tap into this form of marketing. Smaller brands such as Etsy accounts have fast learned the benefits to the micro-influencer. Offering products in exchange for a few posts have become the norm on Social Media. I can’t go anywhere near Instagram without seeing at least one post about how someone loves the new product they’ve tried.

Some of my favorite people I follow on Instagram are micro- influencers. For example, courtesy of my friends at Rome by the Hour, I now know where to eat and what hotel to stay at while traveling. Other influencers I follow give me great tips on baby products (mom life), clothing brands, beauty products etc. It’s a micro-influencers world and we are just living in it, people!