diaper bag tips + tricks

My friend, Stephanie, is about to have her first baby and she recently asked her friends for their thoughts on diaper bags... I had many. So many thoughts... and here they are... and yes, I realize that this is completely ridiculous, but let's face it - a good diaper bag (and what's in it) is a life raft on this journey called motherhood.

SIZE
Some people love to carrying a TON of stuff with them. Personally, I have found that if you get a huge bag then you will end up carrying around a bunch of unnecessary items. Stick to the basics (of which I list my opinion below) because there is nothing worse than trying to find your car keys in a giant diaper bag. In the grocery store parking lot. With a starving baby. In the rain. Not that that's ever happened to me. :)

ORGANIZATION
Having the inside of your diaper bag organized is a life saver. Some diaper bags come with organization compartments already and, while the concept is helpful, sometimes it's a pain to find something in one of those dark compartments (especially near the bottom). I personally like to have my own zippered bags to hold items for me. The zipper BAGGU bags are great because they're wipeable and they come in different sizes and lots of great colors. I have one big bag for snacks for my kids, one medium bag for little toys and nick nacks (i.e. a few hot wheels and a tape measure) and one small bag for me (compact, lip gloss, hand sanitizer and a KIND bar).

WEARING
Everyone likes to wear their bags in different ways. I have tried every type out there so here's my two cents:

Backpack: 
Pros: leaves you hands-free. Easy to bend over to pick up a pacifier or a hefty, crying toddler who has suddenly become a slippery squid child.
Cons: hard to wear with a wrap/sling. Also, they're usually pretty obviously a diaper bag (which may or may not be a concern for you).

Shoulder:
Pros: easy to put on and take off, easy to handle and look through.
Cons: depending on the length of the strap, it can be hard to wear. The idea is to be hands free. If you can't comfortably wear it on your shoulder for your body frame (like, if the straps are too short or too long), then it won't work.

Cross Body: 
Pros: I feel like the best option is to have a shoulder bag that has cross body capabilities (like short shoulder straps and then a longer strap for when you need the extra support or to be truly hands-free).
Cons: if the strap isn't adjustable, then it might not work with your height (similar to the issue above).

COLOR (NEUTRALITY)
When I say "neutral", I don't necessarily mean brown, black or gray (unless that's what you want). The color and pattern should be neutral enough for the type of clothes that you wear. This will be your main accessory so get something that compliments your typical wardrobe colors. I suggest going into your closet and looking at the general color scheme. If you tend to wear a lot of warm reds and pinks (like coral or tomato) go with a warm, fresh color like camel, kelly green or gold. If you like cool, berry colors (like mulberry or rose), a charcoal black stripe would be cute or you could even get away with a citron, neon yellow (if that's your thing). It also probably depends on where you live. Here, in the south west, bright colors are pretty popular year round but if you live in New York or Seattle, it seems that the style tends to lean more towards black, gray and navy. But I say: wear what you like and what looks good on you! :)

PATTERN
I prefer to go with a solid color so it doesn't compete with your daily outfit (unless you LOVE the pattern, then go for it!). If it's something like a stripe, geometric or muted pattern, then it won't complete so much.

STRUCTURE
Needs some form - not floppy. Trying to dig through a diaper bag that has no form or function is the worst. It should be made well because diaper bags get beat up! Which leads me to...

PRICE
While everyone's financial situation is different, I feel like shoes and purses should be well-made - especially if you plan to have more than one child. Also, if you get something that doesn't scream "diaper bag" then you will also get your money's worth out of it by using it as your children grow older. If you're looking for something more in the $50 or under range, Target has some cute options.

THE BAGS
Kelly Moore - 2 Sues Mustard
Skip Hop - DUO in Grey Stripe
Littlephant - Waves Day Bag
Storksak - Kate Color Block
Timi & Leslie - 2 in 1 Backpack in Emerald Lagoon
Petunia Pickle Bottom - Wistful Weekender in Twilight Tigerlily
Ikabags - Stockholm

OTHER ACCESSORIES

Baggu Zipper Bags - great for organization as I mentioned above.

OXO Stroller Hook - I have this and LOVE it for holding my diaper bag (or shopping bags) on my stroller. It's pretty heavy duty and I've really loved it.

Stroller Clips - many diaper bags have stroller clips that either come with the bag or are an extra accessory. These are great for carrying on the stroller but unless your bag has the hooks that work with the clips, then it may not work for you.

Diaper Clutch - I recently bought this diaper clutch and wondered how I ever got along with it! Just another essential organization thing, in my opinion. Etsy is filled with lots of cute, custom options. 

INSIDE THE BAG

Mustela Diaper Cream - this is my favorite diaper rash cream. It works great, smells wonderfully and lasts forever!

Dirty Diaper Baggies - when someone gifted these to me with my first baby, I thought I would never use them. I don't use it every time I change a dirty diaper but there are some situations (like a particularly foul diaper and dumping it in the restroom trash can at church) where it's just convenient. Also great for road trips!
Clean Well Hand Sanitizer Spray - while I'm not a hand sanitizer junky, I have really started using it more often now that I have a thumb sucker. This spray is great because the kids don't dump a glob on gel onto themselves and the smell is really nice too!

Onesie - always a good idea to have an extra onesie around. Some people carry an extra set of clothes but I find that it's usually too much for me to want to keep with me. A onesie is enough to have your child covered enough until you can get a fresh change of clothes (I've personally never need it but there are plenty of moms who have!)

Packin' SMART Stack 'n Seal (tiered snack containers) - this is my favorite container for snacks! The great thing about these are that they have separate compartments for each snack so you can divide and conquer! One section can be for a teething baby with cut up banana slices, cheerios or even baby food! One section can include crackers, carrot sticks or popcorn for an older child or toddler. The possibilities are endless! I love it.
Entertainment: cow LED keychain & tape measure.

Of course, these are just my opinions of what I've learned in my short time as a mother. I know I don't have it all figured out (of course not!) but I have learned a few things in the last four years about what does and does not work for me and my life. If you have any advice yourself about what has worked for you, please share in the comments!

breathe it in

The weather is finally starting to cool down. Fritz is sooooo happy. This morning we opened the doors and let the cool air in and I couldn't help smiling. I have really missed the outdoors and not living in face-melting heat. My boys have constantly begged me to go in the backyard with them all summer but I can only last a few minutes. I feel horrible for saying "let's go inside" but no more! Let's go outside, boys! The season of family, after dinner walks is upon us and it makes me happy.

rocky mountain high

I took an insane amount of pictures in Colorado and I have no idea how I'm going to narrow down my favorites, but I'll try. We spent most of the trip driving through the beautiful Rocky Mountains, listening to John Denver and Mumford & Sons and talking. It was so nice to be able to talk, laugh and hold hands. The scenery was beautiful and we stopped often so I could take picture after picture of the changing leaves and the majestic mountains but it's so hard to capture! You can't experience the smell of crisp, autumn air or hear the wind through quaking aspen leaves through a picture. But take my word for it - it was fantastic!

We drove to the top of Cottonwood Pass (at 12,000 feet!) on Saturday morning on our way to Crested Butte. It was such a beautiful drive and so nice to breathe in some cool, fresh air.

When we got to Crested Butte, we stopped just outside of town at one of David's co-workers mom's house. He had insisted that we stop by to say hello and see her beautiful place right on the river. And I mean, her deck hangs over the riverbank. It's beautiful! When we met her, she insisted that we use her fly fishing gear and her spot of the river. She is honestly one of the sweetest people I have ever met! We had to go rent some waders and boots but she saved us a lot of money and hassle and even let me borrow her slippers and a vest when we were done so I could warm up. David is a really experienced fly fisherman so he was really happy. Also, it is impossible to look attractive in waders. That is all.

This was my first time fly fishing and it was fun! Cold but fun. I was really nervous about slipping and getting soaked in freezing cold water but I stayed dry! So, phew! The river was full of huge trout - David caught one and I caught two. Go us!

Can you believe this is her front yard? Then we drove up to Crested Butte to our resort on the mountain. We had a nice tapas dinner at django's (it was pretty good - nothing to rave about) and relaxed as it started to rain all night. When we woke up in the morning, there was luckily some sun so we walked around the farmer's market in search of breakfast...

...which we found in this delicious crepe that we shared - Palisade peach and strawberry. Yum! Then we hopped in the car and continued our drive up to Vail. That was pretty much the only sun we got that day. It rained most of the day off and on.

David and I both agreed that the drive from Crested Butte to Vail was the prettiest drive we have ever taken. Those Rocky Mountains are unbelievable and although we were about a week too early for fall colors, we still saw some beautiful scenery.

David really wanted to stop at Crystal Mine but when we got there, the road was only open for 4 wheel drive vehicles and since it was raining, we decided not to risk it. Such a bummer because that's one of the main things that we were excited about doing. Maybe another time...

We arrived in Vail and checked into our resort. Let me tell you - it pays off to mention it's your anniversary. I casually mentioned it at the front desk and they upgraded us to a suite with a mountain view. It was so fun to have a fireplace and more space. They also brought us some chocolate covered strawberries and champagne but we told them we don't drink, so they sent it back.

David teased me about bringing a coat but it was cold! He says he didn't think it was but I think this picture says otherwise...

Vail is very pretty. I really liked the Bavarian/Swiss touches to all the buildings. We had dinner at La Tour that night and it was really romantic. I had awesome French onion soup and some really awesome Brussels sprouts. The nice thing about going to these ski towns in September, is that all the fancy restaurants were having deals. Then we went back to our hotel and rented some dessert from room service, which they didn't charge us for since we sent back the champagne. Woo hoo!

That night it snowed about three inches between Vail and Breckenridge. We were in awe as we drove through that winter wonderland. It made me cry, it was so beautiful! We had to stop and play with the snow for a few minutes and David even threw a snowball at me - we are such desert rats!

We spent the rest of the afternoon just walking around Breckenridge, shopping and talking and walking. Then flew home late Monday night. It was really fun hanging out with David. It's funny how we spend a lot of time together but that time seems less "quality" when we're at home with our kids. It felt nice to focus on each other, laugh at each other's jokes, compliment each other and really feel connected.

colorado leaves

I've been kinda lame about blogging lately but I will resume next week when we get back from Colorado. David and I are celebrating an early anniversary in the beautiful fall leaves (if there are any yet) in Breckenridge, Vail and Crested Butte. I can wait to soak in the hot springs, go fly fishing and be in nature with my main man. If anyone has restaurant recommendations, let's hear them! Yelp and Trip Advisor have been sadly failing me. Anyway, I leave you with this cute picture of Fritz who stole my glasses yesterday and was walking around with them, slipping off his little nose.

downeast basics

While this certainly isn't a fashion blog, I do really like clothes. I wouldn't call myself a fashionista or, really, even someone totally stylish on a daily basis. But I do like to dress comfortably with a bit of style. As a mom of two rowdy boys, the clothes I wear have to fit to cover all my "areas". I have a middle-figure body type and low-rise jeans are my arch nemesis. Nothing worse than bending over to pick up Frederick just to have my backside hanging out. So I like to stick with mid-rise skirts or jeans, looser tops and comfortable flats. That's my day-to-day wardrobe and I'm not ashamed of it. It's all about finding what colors and styles work best on my body, not that beautiful girl on Pinterest who has dark brown cropped hair, blue eyes and wears a size 2.

In my opinion, it's all about starting with some great basics. Yep, we all need comfortable striped tees, pencil skirts and affordable accessories in our lives. I created this little mood board centered around a more dressy outfit that I would wear to church. I work with the Primary children so I have to be able to sit in tiny chairs, pick up 4-year-olds and sometimes touch my head, shoulders, knees AND toes . . . so no crazy tight dress or 4-inch heels will do.

DownEast Basics recently asked me to be their Guest Stylist this month on their website so go check it out here to see my picks. DownEast is a really great place to get the "look for less". See that gorgeous Kate Spade necklace in my mood board? Well, I can't afford to spend $148 on it but DownEast has a necklace with a similar color scheme for $20. Can't beat that! They also just relaunched their blog so go take a peek at that as well.

new eats

This Friday we ventured out to try some new places in our area. First, we went to SoCal Fish Tacos. This is not the first taco joint in town but these are not your typical greasy tacos smeared with guacamole (mmmm). The best parts of this place were the rad design, outdoor patio (which I'm sure we'll enjoy when the temperatures drop below 100), their perfectly seasoned pinto beans and the cod tacos. The rice was pretty great too - throw cilantro and lime in rice and you've got a winner! I think we would go back there again but, if I'm being honest, I really like Joyride Taco House across the street a little better. Definitely worth a second shot, though.

Also, my boys are cute even when Fritz is putting his grubby hands in our cups to fish out the ice.

The other night we took the boys for some "gelati" at Rita's Ice. Several years ago when David and I were dating, we went to D.C. We stayed with my brother and his family in Maryland and they recommended their favorite place for a summer treat nearby: enter Rita's. We loved it but never got to partake again since we heard they were strictly an East coast place. Then, recently, David found out that one had opened not too far from us in Tempe so we took the boys. I thoroughly enjoyed my mango ice with vanilla custard. David liked his pear/blue raspberry combo. Have you ever been to Rita's? If there's one close by, I recommend it!

classic, daring Fritz.

the piggy bank pays off

For the last almost four years, David has been saving up for a road bike. Every time he had an extra few dollars, he would stick it in an envelope and put it away. A couple of times he had to use some of it to pay for a car issue or something but he kept plugging away. When we moved to Arizona he finally had enough saved to buy a bike but he wasn't sure if it was the right time to buy one since summer was just starting and it would be horrible weather to ride in. A couple of months ago, though, he signed up to do a half Ironman and needed a bike for that so he decided to go for it. He spent hours researching what kind of bike would be best for his 6'4" body and what equipment he would need. He totally geeked out on the best helmets, shoes and other gadgets. Then he waited for the Labor Day sale and got the bike and all his gear (including those nifty matching water bottles) for less than the money that he had saved up. He is so happy. Every Saturday, he has gone on at least a 50 mile bike ride (last Saturday it was 70) and he loves it. I'm so happy to see him happy. He works hard, long days and he deserves this. Doesn't he look thrilled and sweaty and attractive? :)

make 'em laugh

William and Fritz are the best of friends. People told me how great it would be to see my kids playing together, but this? This incredible love they have for each other? The rough housing, the smiles across the room, the hugs throughout the day, the "come play with me, Fritz"s, the complete looks of adoration and affection? It's almost too much. There's this really fun dynamic between my boys. They wrestle all day long and it's usually Frederick who initiates it. He can take a foot to the face better than anyone I know and doesn't even bat an eye. He just gets right back in the ring.

William's role in their relationship is the protector (of Fritz and the toys). He also loves to read books to him, get him drinks and tell me when he needs something. Fritz's role is pure comedy. He can make William laugh harder than anyone else... and Fritz LOVES to perform. He will do anything to get William to laugh and when he does - the look on his face is pure gold. I took this video of William cracking up at Chipotle a few weeks ago. Fritz was in his highchair dumping something on his head (probably rice) and then he would look at Will and watch him erupt into full-blown hysterics and do it again, always with the same result. It was really entertaining to watch. I love this blossoming relationship. It does my mama heart good.

french breakfast puffs (cinnamon-sugar muffins)

A couple of days ago I was looking at the recipes I had posted on my old cooking blog. The pictures were horrendous and since I don't use that blog anymore, I've decided to go back and make the recipes from years ago that I posted so I can retake the pictures... starting with these delicious little bits of cinnamon sugar goodness. French breakfast puffs are a hit wherever they go. Seriously, I have never met someone who doesn't like them. If you want a fun little treat for a delicious weekend breakfast or the perfect baby shower brunch item - these are your friends. I made them in mini-muffin tins the other day for a little brunch I hosted with my high school girlfriends and they were perfect little bites (I did add extra cinnamon to the topping this time so they look pretty dark in the picture).

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar; beat in egg until thoroughly combined. Add 1/2 of the milk to the butter/sugar mixture and then 1/2 of the dry mixture. Beat in the remaining 1/2 of the milk and the remaining 1/2 of the dry mixture. Pour into muffin tins (or mini-muffin tins, like I did in the picture) and bake for 20 minutes (12 minutes if mini muffins) at 350 degrees. Remove from oven.

Melt 1/3 cup of butter in a small bowl. Combine 1/2 cup sugar with 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Take a muffin and dip the top in the melted butter and the immediately dip in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, turning to coat. Repeat with all muffins and serve warm.

brunch with friends

Last Sunday I saw one of my oldest friends, Tricia, at church. She and her husband were visiting family in town and I was so excited to see her! They just moved to Pasadena where her husband is starting his medical residency and I feel like I never get to see them. So I ambushed her and told her that we were going to get together with our group of girlfriends from high school the next morning for brunch at my house. It was really last minute but I'm glad that we could spend a couple of hours together before she left. Kemra is about to have a baby in a few weeks (I pray that I won't ever have to be 9 months pregnant in the Arizona heat) and Tasha lives close by so it was great to get the four of us together.

I made this caramelized shallot and Gruyere quiche plus some French breakfast puffs (recipe tomorrow). Kemra brought the world's best cinnamon rolls and it was so fun to chat with my friends who I have such a history with. Tasha and I were roommates as freshmen at BYU and living in the dorms. I have many fond memories of living with her and can confidently say that she is one of the most genuinely kind and sweet people I have ever met. Kemra makes me laugh every time I'm with her and she always brings such insightful, interesting conversation to the table. Tricia is one of those rare people that I honestly don't know anyone who doesn't love her. She is talented and good and faithful. They're each really good examples to me and make me want to be better - the true type of friend. I wish the picture I tried to take on the self-timer of all of us together wasn't blurry but at least I got a great shot of Kemra and Tasha looking beautiful as Tricia, no doubt, is telling a humorous anecdote. That girl can capture anyone's attention with her great sense of humor!

This post has strangely turned into an ode to my friends. Anyway, it was really fun and I'm really lucky to have such great friends in my life. And in case I forgot to mention it, those cinnamon rolls were really good. :)

roasted vegetable lasagna with pesto goat cheese

Sometimes David requests things for dinner and I try to oblige when I can. Yesterday he asked me to make vegetable lasagna and, mind you, it is 115 degrees outside but I am nice and said I would. I have never made vegetable lasagna (just my favorite lasagna bolognese and an easy stovetop skillet lasagna) but I knew the basics and figured I could make a pretty awesome one. This is full of healthy veggies and a different + delicious pesto goat cheese sauce. I did mix in some ricotta to mellow out the tanginess of the goat cheese since my dad isn't fond of it. Everyone really liked it and I will be making it again.

1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4" rings
2 zucchinis, cut into 1/4" rings
1 large red onion, cut into 1/4" rings
1/2 bunch kale, cleaned (stems removed) and chopped
1 jar puttanesca sauce (or marinara)
1 pound lasagna noodles (no-boil is what I used but the kind you cook would work too - just be sure you cook them before you layer the lasagna)
5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup pesto
olive oil
kosher salt + pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Layer cut vegetables (except kale) on two cookie sheets, evenly distributed. Drizzle with olive oil (a couple of tablespoons for each pan) and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until vegetables are starting to soften. Let cool for a few minutes and then roughly chop the roasted onions and set aside in a separate bowl.

Place the chopped kale in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil (about 4 tablespoons) and season with salt and pepper. Massage for 2-3 minutes until kale is starting to soften. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine goat cheese, ricotta and pesto until creamy. Stir in the chopped onions and set aside.

Take a 9x13" pan and layer the bottom with a little bit of puttanesca (or other tomato based sauce). Place lasagna noodles on top and then layer with the eggplant slices. Dollop half of the goat cheese mixture and spread evenly. Place the kale on top and then add another layer of noodles. Spread more puttanesca sauce on top and then add the zucchini slices. Place the rest of the goat cheese mixture on top of the zucchini and spread evenly. Add the last layer of noodles and finish with the last of the puttanesca sauce and sprinkle with the Parmesan-Reggiano cheese.

Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and place the lasagna pan on a cookie sheet (or rimmed pan). Cook uncovered for 45 minutes until the cheese is melted and browned. Let side for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

pre-homework

One of the best parts of preschool is the creative projects that William gets to do. He's always coming home with a little something that he made, like a paper tree or a painted hand puppet. The look on his face when I pick him up every day is of pure excitement when he gets to show me what he's made. He asks if we can display it on the refrigerator and I gladly oblige. There's something so "official" about having your child's art on the refrigerator. On the first day of preschool, his teacher asked us to help our child make a scrapbook page about them for the class book. I enjoyed that assignment (here's last semester's).

I've been told that there are lots of nights of homework ahead of us (and I most certainly CAN wait for that) but these little silly preschool assignments are pretty fun. I ask William a few questions like, "Which one is your favorite paper?" or "Do you like this picture?" and then I get to actually scrapbook again! I haven't done that in years! This week he's supposed to bring in a little sack of things about him for a "Me Tree". I'm thinking I should try to find some little dog bones, cowboy stickers and a chocolate candy wrapper. That pretty much sums up my boy!

surprised

Last Thursday was my 29th birthday and I had a nice enough day. Pretty standard - gym, preschool, cooking, cleaning, playing. It was a work night for David and we had decided that we would go out on Friday night instead of on my birthday so that he wouldn't have to stay up so late on a week night. He brought me home flowers and a really sweet card and I was happy with that (my birthday present this year was a new camera that I bought before we went to Europe). So, Friday night rolled around and I dropped the boys off at my sister's house and then we drove to True Food Kitchen for dinner. We put our name on the list and David said that we should got to the bathroom while we waited. I was confused because men don't usually solicit restroom companionship but David is usually interested in things like the design and architecture of bathrooms so I thought that he may have heard that their bathrooms were really cool or something. He walked through the flow of the other customer's tables to get to the back of the restaurant and I went the other way so that I wouldn't impose. I wasn't overly impressed by the bathroom but didn't think anything of it. I met him out of the bathrooms and he led me back into the flow of the tables. I momentarily resisted since I didn't want to intrude but then he pointed to a small private room in the back and asked, "Who's that?" I looked over and saw Lela's face first. My first thought was, "What is she doing here!?" and then I saw Erin, Jamie, Tessa, Brittany and Lexi and when I realized they were there for me, I lost it. Like - started bawling my eyes out.

Once I composed myself, I had such a great time with such great friends. David ordered some food to go and went home to pick up the boys while I stayed out for a really fun girls night.

We ate dinner and then walked next door to the Capital Grille for one of my favorite desserts ever - the coconut cream pie. It was delightful but I think my copycat recipe is pretty dang awesome too if you don't have one close by.

The party didn't end there, though, because Lela and Erin were staying all weekend! Yippee! We went home and stayed up wayyyy too late talking on the bed in our pajamas and I thoroughly freaked Erin out about scorpions. Oh, Arizona. You're kind of the worst for summer weather and insects.

Saturday was spent talking, laughing some more and eating delicious food. We went to Tia Rosa's for lunch and then David took the boys home while we did some antique shopping in downtown Mesa. We didn't end up buying anything but it was fun to pose with our mouth's open and make ridiculous poses with what we found.

these chairs were actually really cute.

Then we went to see Austenland, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and ended the evening at LGO for (the best) pizza and salad. It was so much fun and I'm so very, very glad they came. Easily the hardest part of moving from San Diego was leaving my friends and I am so happy that I've seen them almost every month since we moved. It sounds really ridiculous to say that but there's always been an occasion or a vacation!

I'm so grateful to David for thinking of me and planning all this so that I would feel special and loved. I just can't even explain how happy I am that I am married to that guy. It was a really great birthday and I'm feeling really humbled and grateful for all the people in my life.