enJOY it

around here we are still doing Whole30. Yesterday was day 10 and so far it's been good. Mostly it just feels like a challenge in meal planning. Which, for me, is really working out well. I don't know how I forget this, but having a real goal in place just works for me. If I had said, "Elise, be smart about how you plan dinners for the next 30 days" I wouldn't have felt motivated. But when I said "Elise, stick with Whole30 for 30 days" suddenly I'm all over it. Funny how our brains can work.

around here I think we've got a name for our second little girl. I think.

around here I am still making gods-eyes to hang in the kiddo room. My parents are coming at the end of July and we're going to get things set up in there so it's ready for two little ones and Ellerie can start getting used to a toddler bed. Should be exciting.

around here I am reading Design Mom. I own many home decor books, but I can say with certainty this is the first one I have READ. Like I am reading every word not just looking at the photos. I'm very impressed (I bought it after reading the extremely positive reviews on Amazon). It's aspirational (like all decor books) but it also feels so practical with ideas I can put to use (like the "it's your special day" plate, family goal setting journal and even if we have a dining room someday, using it for something else). Most of the time Gabrielle is talking about how to use what you already own, systems that wouldn't cost anything to put into place or helpful things to consider if you are looking to invest in something new. To me, it seems a bit more applicable for folks with kids that are not toddlers and I love that. It's going to help me make smarter decisions as the babies grow up and it's making me really excited to have our family grow (both in size and age).

around here we are going to the park a lot. I shared this on Instagram but on Tuesday, Ellerie woke up, ate her breakfast then tucked her Cinderella DVD under her arm, grabbed her cup of milk and said "Park? We go?" It was 7:15am and off we went. It's been really fun to see her get better at using the playground equipment. It's seriously the coolest thing for me to watch my kid grow up. (Have I said that already?)

around here we are gearing up for a week of Camp Mama. Daycare is closed next week and so it's going to be a time-zone shift for me to "close down business work" (because that's realistic when you work for yourself) and re-frame how our days go.

around here I just got out my wooden pottery barn cubby. We've had it for years, but it's still available (and on sale) here. I was storing it in Ellerie's closet, thinking that someday it would be the perfect unit for her to "collect" and place her small toys. She "got it" yesterday and it was interesting for me to see her match toys (like put the wood blocks next to each other) without any prompting. I think this guy will get some use.

around here I am holding a mid-year sale at the elisejoy.com shop. Through Monday 7/20 at 10am PST everything is 25% off with the code SUMMERLOVE. This includes all physical product, eCourses and digital stamps & downloads.