Lazy Sunday: Everything I Made This Weekend

I originally sent this out as a Substack newsletter, but I’ll be moving these posts here for now.

Oh, hey, look who it is! It’s me, writing for once!

Happy Sunday after the first full week of 2025. Let me tell you—it was a bit of a doozy for me. I don’t want to get too into it, but for the sake of transparency: in this first full week of January I started AND quit a new job.

Honestly, that’s pretty impressive. Again, don’t want to get too into it, but I was mislead into accepting the job—which I think was purposeful, as I was the 4th hire for this role in the span of a year.

After a lot of thought and discussion about the last year, Danny and I came to the conclusion that I will aim for part-time employment. In a post-COVID world that has had a serious backlash to the working conditions that came during lockdown, life has gotten way, way harder for mothers in the workforce. It’s near impossible to find a flexible role anymore: the amount I’ve had to argue about my children in the past 2 1/2 years has been astronomical. I just don’t think school pick up is the end of the world—after all, I work in marketing. I’m not a doctor. No matter how much someone feels like something is an emergency, it’s not an emergency. It’s never that serious.

There are a lot of things I’m willing to compromise on when it comes to working. But I’m not willing to compromise on my kids and I’m not willing to overschedule my life in order to work at a “butts-in-seats” kind of place.

This is all to say: 2025, what a year already!

So anyway, I’m settling into being a partial stay-at-home mom for the time being. I have some freelance work and a part-time gig already lined up, but I’ve decided the next year is about healing for me.

Ok, that’s the general life update. Let’s discuss why we’re here today: cooking.

It’s been one of my goals for 2025 to make more things homemade, to do more food prep to make our lives easier, and to get back to cooking and baking, one of my favorite hobbies. A lot of this is a money saving endeavor (groceries are… expensive?), but I also just enjoy cooking and baking on the weekend. I haven’t really done it for the past several…. years (?) because, let’s be honest, I’m tired. I’m really tired.

So here’s everything I made this weekend.

Rotisserie Chicken - a Classic

If you go to Costco and don’t get a rotisserie chicken, what are you doing? Full disclosure, I had to Instacart my Costco stuff this weekend—I’ve had a cough for about 2 months now and I really don’t want to get sick again—so my rotisserie chicken was at the mercy of Dylan. While Dylan struggled to identify eggs, he did pick a good rotisserie chicken.

I shredded the rotisserie chicken into roughly 2 cup portions (I got about 3 containers) to use in lunches and dinners throughout this week. Then, I did my usual: make chicken stock with the leftovers.

If you haven’t make chicken stock, it can seem really daunting. I just use my crockpot.

Here are the simple instructions:

• In your crockpot, place your rotisserie chicken carcass. (As a note, you can also do this with any bone-in chicken leftovers—like if you make a half-chicken or a quarter piece).

• I usually add 2-3 carrots, just cut into large pieces, and whatever amount of onion I had. This time, I had a leftover half onion that I didn’t want to go bad, so I chopped it roughly and tossed it in.

• I add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, 1 tablespoon of pepper, and 3-4 cloves of garlic as well. This time I did add some fresh ginger I needed to use up.

• Then, you add water to cover the chicken, or as close as you can if it’s a big chicken.

• I set my crockpot to low for about 10-12 hours. It will smell incredible all day.

I’m currently learning how to can chicken stock, but you can also just freeze it when it’s done.

Speaking of when it’s done, you’ll want to let it cook before you strain out all the physical pieces. I usually double strain through a mesh strainer and then portion it out.

Included here: I cooked up a pound of ground beef I’d defrosted in my fridge; I’ll either use it for a dinner this week or freeze it. I often like to batch cook several pounds of ground beef at once to have ready for weeknight dinners…but I didn’t quite plan that far ahead. Maybe next week.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

I got a bag of tomatillos this week, so I knew I needed to make some salsa as they were already looking rough. Plus, I had some jalopenos leftover from making a dupe of Chipotle’s corn salsa last week. (If anyone would like a round up of what I made to make Chipotle bowls, let me know!)

Tomatillo salsa is the easiest salsa to make. Here’s what I did. (You might notice all my measurements are general and approximate. It’s your salsa. Do whatever you want.)

• Peel your tomatillos and rinse well.

• On a baking sheet, place tomatillos along with a chopped white onion (can be rough chopped!) and 1-2 jalopenos. I personally cut the jalopeno I used in half and removed about 75% of the seeds.

• Add oil to baking sheet and toss, then salt and pepper.

• Roast at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, until everything is soft. Take out of the oven and let cool.

• Once cool, add to a blender with the juice of 1 lime and about 1/4-1/2 cup of water. Blend.

I separated into two small containers. I’ll use one container for enchiladas this week and the other to make some tomatillo ranch soon.

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce, in January? In my world, yes, because I kind of use it as jam.

I got a bag of cranberries this past week (for free, just like the tomatillos) so I decided to make some cranberry sauce. I follow a really general recipe for it, but cranberry sauce is painfully easy to make. You can really do whatever you want.

I used:

• 1 bag of cranberries (16oz)

• 1/2 cup of water plus 1/2 cup of orange juice

• The zest of 1 orange

• 1/2 cup of sugar.

Combine everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Boil for about 10-15 minutes, stirring and breaking up the cranberries. When it was thick and most of the cranberries had burst, I let it cool, then blended it a little with my immersion blender. This made about 2 cups of cranberry sauce, so I froze half and kept the other in my fridge. Perfect for sandwiches this week.

Banana Bread Muffins

I had some decrepit looking bananas that needed to GOOOOO so it was banana bread time. Typically, I like to bake a loaf of banana bread, but this time I baked muffins so I’d have individual portions. I follow a super basic recipe from Better Homes & Gardens cookbook; it’s this one here. I do usually omit the lemon zest (because I very rarely have it) and add mini chocolate chips and flax seed instead of nuts.

These are great for a quick breakfast on busy days or a snack for Violet. I also like to pack them in Forrest’s lunch throughout the week. He’s notoriously a picky eater, but he’ll always eat a banana muffin.

What’s Left from Last Week?

Last week, here’s everything I made that I still have for this week:

• Chipotle’s corn salsa

• Egg, bacon and cheese breakfast sandwiches on pretzel rolls and english muffins

• Egg, potato, and sausage breakfast burritos

• Cilantro lime rice

The corn salsa and lime rice will be easy to morph into burrito bowls with rotisserie chicken, and I’ll be able to use them with enchiladas this week. That’s a win-win to me.

And that’s it, folks! Everything I made this weekend to make the week a little bit easier. I might start writing these weekly as a type of round up and I’m hoping to share everything I make for dinner throughout the week. Is this interesting? I don’t know, but it’s what I feel like writing about and I promise I’d write more this year.

Thanks for reading, as always, and let me know what I should add to my weekly meal prep rotation.

How to Prepare for Cold & Flu Season with Kids

To my fellow parents with school age kids or just kids in daycare, I salute you. In a few weeks, we’re going to be fully in the trenches, battling cold after cold after cold… but for now, we can only prepare, fully aware that our kids are highly likely to miss picture day and that we’ll, once again, be on a first name basis with the pediatrician receptionist.

For the past 2 school years, my son has gotten sick after the first three days of school. Picture day has always been on the Tuesday or Thursday the second week of school—and he has been sick in both of those school photos. I told him our goal was to avoid being sick this weekend, but who knows if that will actually happen.

This summer, we’ve also had illness after illness: mystery flu (Violet), hand foot and mouth disease (all of us, but especially me); and the stomach flu. We caught the stomach flu right before our cruise in August and HFDM from that very cruise… so we’ve really been through the ringer. I’m not particularly excited about this coming school year. If the summer was bad… what will the school year be like?

There is comfort in knowing we aren’t alone; many of my son’s friends were also, somehow, sick throughout the summer. My pediatrician’s phone line is always backed up. So it wasn’t just us! It seems like this summer was a rough one for viruses.

Which again, that does not bode well for this cold and flu season.

I like to think I know a thing or two about taking care of kids with colds. But if there is one thing being a parent has taught me it’s that once you think you have a handle on a situation, the universe likes to throw a little pizzazz. Call it karma confetti. Parents with older kids sometimes make the mistake of thinking we know what we’re doing 100% of the time, but the truth is we don’t.

One thing I do know though? How to prepare for cold and flu season.

1. Stock up on essentials now.

This one might seem a little bit basic, but hear me out: many cold and flu seasons I have found myself awakened at 2am by a crying, feverish, sick child, gone to my medicine cabinet, and found an almost empty bottle of ibuprofen. Or a thermometer that isn’t accurate or has stopped working. Or, worst of all, someone is throwing up and there is no Pedialyte in the house. And by the time cold and flu season arrives, there is usually a bit of a shortage on these things.

Two years ago, my son got the flu during the big Tylenol shortage. I had to emergency order multiple bottles from whatever source I could and it was so stressful.

My point is: stock up all the classics now, rather than ordering (and often spending too much) later. Here is what I try to get stocked up on before the end of September:

• Saltines & oyster crackers

• Pedialyte (I like the packets as they last longer and you don’t end up with a half used bottle)

• Ibuprofen & Tylenol

• Cough drops

• Immodium

• Children’s allergy medicine

• Thermometer (if you need a new one)

• Tissues

• Hand sanitizer

• Laundry sanitizer

• Extra bedding and towels

• Tea & honey

2. Talk to your kids about washing their hands.

Kids are, as I’m sure you know, notoriously lax about washing their hands. Well, most of them. There are definitely some kids who are extremely dedicated to a hand washing routine and for that we thank them. But a vast majority of kids simply don’t wash their hands or rush.

My oldest is not a kid who skimps on washing his hands. He was 4 when Covid started in early March 2020 and so washing his hands thoroughly has been part of his life for the majority of it. He also loves a good hand sanitizer; I always refresh the one on his backpack keychain every week and he knows to use it throughout the day. But this hasn’t been a natural thing; I had to talk to him about the importance of hand washing a lot for a long time.

We also had to make it a constant habit: washing our hands before every single meal; washing our hands when we got home from an event; using hand sanitizer in the car after every stop. It just became part of our lives and to help prevent the worst colds, it’s something you just have to do. (This won’t necessarily stop them from ever getting sick, but it does cut down on it.

3. Sign up for flu shots & Covid boosters.

Controversial? No. Kids should get their yearly flu shots and, if they’re old enough, Covid boosters. (I actually haven’t heard yet, as of September 3, 2024, if there is a Covid booster this year; I assume there will be though!) In November 2022, my family got the flu; and yes, I was 5 weeks postpartum and yes, my newborn did get the flu. You know why? We hadn’t gotten a chance to get flu shots yet. My son was so, so sick I thought he might have to be hospitalized and I beat myself up a lot that month about not getting him in to get a flu shot.

Long story short: get your kids flu shots and Covid boosters. I promise it is worth it.

4. Set up a “just got home” routine

This piggy backs off of point 2, but set up a “we just got home” routine with your kids. I keep my son’s on a laminated piece of paper on our fridge and he knows to check off each box. This is what ours looks lie:

• Wash & sanitize your hands

• Change into play clothes and put school clothes in hamper

• Wipe down lunch box

• Spray backpack (we use Lysol disinfecting spray for fabric)

• Start homework

• Read 10-15 minutes

• Dinner time

It’s not complicated and the more kids do it, the easier it gets. Obviously, for younger kids, they might need a simpler routine and/or to use pictures on a check off sheets. Either way: make the routine simple to follow and impactful for your evening.

5. Prepare for the unexpected

Not to be dramatic, but anything can happen at any time. RSV was extremely bad last year, as was Covid and the flu. My daughter had multiple colds that landed her in the ER with labored breathing and we had Covid for the first time in December 2023. (That’s a small flex on my part!) We didn’t expect those things, as you can imagine.

Like I wrote earlier: every time I think I have a handle on things, something totally unexpected happens. A stomach bug. The flu. A cold that hits right before a big road trip. You know, regular, schmegular stuff for parents of small and elementary age kids. But it never really gets an easier to handle these things: your kids being sick is extremely stressful for a lot of reasons. You might have general anxiety about their health (hello, me too!); you might have to miss work and, given the economy right now, that’s super stressful; you might have to rush them to the ER and if you’re in the US like me, that’s always stressful.

So, to conclude: you can only prepare so much. Know that you might encounter an illness that shocks you—for me, that’s been hand, foot, and mouth disease (I can’t believe that it’s considered “mild”, my fingernails are falling off). Know that you might have to rush to the ER and advocate for your child in a way you didn’t expect. Your kids will miss school and you will worry about them falling behind. But know that at the end of the tunnel, there is spring and once their older than, like, 12, it won’t be quite this bad.

My Printable Packing List for Your Alaskan Cruise

I’ve already shared my top 5 products for an Alaskan cruise, but now it’s time to share the details of packing. What’s worth bringing, what’s not, and how to organize it. I created a simple, printable guide to help you pack for this trip-of-a-lifetime with your kids and/or toddler.

This guide breaks packing down into specific categories, focused on packing for a toddler—but it applies to kids and adults too! I focus on essentials, the diaper bag, and toddler equipment, plus the basics, with an eye on what is and isn’t available on a cruise ship. Click below to download!

If you haven’t already, check out my blog posts on 5 products that helped my packing organization and everything I learned on our Alaskan cruise.

5 Products to Help Organize Your Alaskan Cruise Packing

Packing for myself for a 7-day trip is often a slog. But packing for 3 people (myself, my 22-month-old, and my 8-year-old) is almost torturous. It’s overwhelming and daunting. 

But I’ve found a few things to help me pack for my kids that take the stress out of it—plus a few pieces that I think will help make your Alaskan cruise just a little easier. 

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1. Day of the week packing cubes

These packing cubes have the days of the week on them and let me tell you, they make packing for kids so much easier. While I was packing for each kiddo, I just laid these out on the floor and stacked outfits and pajamas on top for each day. It cut down the amount of guesswork and just made my life so much easier. Plus, it makes being on the cruise easier as well; my 8-year-old was able to grab the day he needed and change without digging through a suitcase full of clothes. Win-win. 

2. Wet bags

Wet bags aren’t new, but they are a valuable packing tool. I used wet bags to pack swimsuits and sunscreen; this way the sunscreen was contained in case it burst and I knew to look for the wet bag when digging for swimsuits. Plus, once we were on the boat, I carried one with us in case of an emergency diaper change. 

3. Laundry bags

For years while traveling, I have packed a garbage bag to put our dirty laundry in. Times have changed and I knew I needed something a little more resilient for this trip. Plus, you never want someone to mistake your dirty laundry for garbage. These laundry bags are MASSIVE (like way bigger than I thought!) They come in a two pack. We filled one up entirely on our 7-day trip and I was able to put it into our largest suitcase (which was pretty much empty by that point). It keeps the dirties contained until you can handle them. 

 4. Toddler cutlery 

Toddler cutlery? What’s this doing on the list? Well, as I was packing I kept thinking about if they would have toddler cutlery on the boat. News flash: they don’t. I ordered this set to keep in our stroller and it was truly a lifesaver. Violet is at the age where she wants to do everything herself and trying to wield a too-big fork just wasn’t it. This set is compact and barely takes up any room. Perfect for streamlined packing. 

5. Toddler leash harness 

Last but not least, a toddler leash. I know, I know, this might be controversial. But cruise ships can be CROWDED and toddlers don’t like being contained. I recommend not bringing a baby carrier for your toddler—it was just impractical—and opt for this instead. It is super compact and takes up less space than a baby carrier, and you’ll be able to let your toddler have a little bit of freedom. 

I Went On an Alaskan Cruise With a Toddler. Here’s What I Learned.

When my mom first suggested an Alaskan cruise for my entire family (my parents, my siblings and their kids, plus my husband and kids), I was excited. But as the days grew closer, I found myself getting more and more stressed. 

When you have kids, especially those under 6, packing for vacations is always a little more daunting. Not only do you have diapers and wipes (and all the things that come along with those things), you have to worry about packing cups for milk (because when do restaurants ever have cups that toddlers can drink out of effectively?), toddler cutlery, and any emergency supplies. Never mind packing for yourself! 

We set out on our Alaskan cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines in early August. For 7 days, we sailed from Seattle to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay, and Victoria BC before returning back to Seattle. There were so many parts that were beautiful, fun, and exciting. But there were also parts that were, well, not-so-fun. That’s just the reality of traveling with a toddler, right? 

I will be sharing a series of blog posts over the coming days about our Alaska cruise experience—including products I bought that I think saved our butts, plus a packing list guide that will keep you from overpacking. 

But first, let’s talk about everything we experienced on our first cruise as a family. 

Let’s Talk Amenities

I went on an Alaskan cruise when I was around 13. I can’t actually remember a ton about that cruise—I know I had fun—and I know it was on a different cruise line. But compared to that cruise, and according to my mom (who has been on tons of cruises with my dad in the last few years), I definitely felt like the amenities had changed. 

Firstly, your stateroom, no matter what, is going to be small. Whether you have a balcony or an interior room, it’s going to be tight with not a lot of storage space. So as your packing, consider that. It’s also something to consider when thinking about sleeping arrangements: if you have a toddler who is very finicky about their sleep, this is going to be tough. We originally planned to have a pack’n’play (provided by the ship), but there was simply nowhere to put it in the room. I mean, nowhere. 

Secondly, your stateroom might not even have items you consider standard in hotel rooms. Prime example, our stateroom didn't have shampoo. I’m not joking. I know other staterooms did (my sister’s did!) but the dispensers in our shower only had body wash and hand soap. (Hand soap!) I hadn’t packed shampoo because I’d expected it—and no matter how many times I requested it from guest services, it never arrived. 

When it comes to food, there is plenty of it. Depending on how you book, you might also have the unlimited drinks package, which means you can pop up to any bar and get a soda or cocktail (or beer presumably). However, outside of meal times, there isn’t a whole lot around: there are ice cream places and a candy shop, but nowhere to grab, say, a bowl of chips outside of buying some from a shop.This is to say: if you’re traveling with kids whose appetites are unpredictable, bring some reliable snacks. 

One thing I found frustrating throughout our cruise was the lack of consistent information; there were times where I was told one thing and then that turned out to not be true. This can likely be chalked up to the sheer size of the cruise ship I was on; it had over 4,000 guests on it, which meant even with a huge staff, they were stretched thin. On days we weren’t in port, everything was crowded. 

That being said, everything we had access to as an amenity was great; the complimentary dining room was fantastic; the specialty restaurants were great; the bar were top notch. There was no aspect of the food or entertainment that I didn’t enjoy. However, if you’re traveling with small kids, there just simply isn’t a lot for them to do and the 3 course dinners in the evening are loooong for them. There wasn’t a single night where Danny or I didn’t have to leave dinner with Violet. We tried to alternate, but it was what it was. 

One other important amenity: after Covid, cruises stopped offering coffee pots in staterooms, primarily because they’re just hard to clean and cleaning so many between cruises is a chore. However, the internet (and my mom) told me I should be able to request one. I requested one for 3 days in a row and finally gave up. It was a huge pain in the butt to have to walk up to the buffet to get coffee in the morning (writing that out sounds so silly, but listen, I was sleeping with an active toddler who kicked me all night, I needed coffee), especially when my family wasn’t ready to actually go to breakfast yet. Something to consider on your trip!

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To Pack or Not To Pack? 

I think I acutely knew even as we were boarding our cruise that I had overpacked. And I did; I packed too much stuff we didn’t touch or need and I didn’t pack enough of stuff we did need. 

One hilarious fact is this: Alaska in the summer is typically not-hot, but not-cold and can be pretty rainy. Watching the weather the week leading up to our cruise, I felt confident in what I packed: spring weather clothes, plus all our rain coats. Friends, do you think we needed those rain coats? No. It was 80+ in every single city we stopped in. According to the Alaskans we met, it was their one nice week of weather during the summer. We did not need those raincoats and I was sweating my butt off in my leggings. I had only packed 4 t-shirts and then primarily sweatshirts. I’m not sure there was any way I could have anticipated such out of the ordinary weather, but I probably should have had more t-shirts at least. 

I’ll have a more in-depth packing list post coming up, but for now, here’s a summary of my suggestions for packing with a toddler: 

• Bring your stroller, not a baby carrier. We brought our tush baby and the snug attachment we have for it and we didn’t use it once. It’s not an easy to pack carrier either. I was very annoyed with myself about it. We used our stroller every single day, though, because Violet just isn’t big enough to walk on her own most places yet. 

• Pack a light number of activities for your kids. I went a little overboard with activities and we really didn’t touch them hardly at all. That felt, again, a little silly of me. A sketchbook and a pack of crayons were really all Forrest and Violet needed to entertain themselves. 

• Don’t bring extra electronics. Ok, so, there is no free wifi on cruise ships. There is wifi you can pay for (it was $200+ for the week and that was non-streaming). This rendered our iPads pretty much useless for the entire week. I didn’t even touch mine. 

• Pack clothes in outfits, not items. 

• Pack snacks you know your toddler will eat or that can keep him or her entertained during dinners. 

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Excursions with a Toddler

Full disclosure: most of them were too long or too boring for Violet. The first excursion we had planned in Juneau, I realized the day of was going to last for 5 hours until past 8pm. I just knew she wasn’t going to make it, so I stayed behind while Danny took Forrest. Even for Forrest, it was a long time with a lot of walking and moving to different locations. He enjoyed it, but he was exhausted afterwards. 

Our second excursion was a train ride in Skagway up to the White Pass. I really, really enjoyed it and so did Danny… but Violet fell asleep and Forrest got very bored. As much as I enjoyed it, I did wonder if we would have had more fun just exploring Skagway on our own or taking the shorter train ride with a more active excursion. Well, hindsight is 20/20. 

That is to say: vet excursions carefully before booking and do so with an eye on what your toddler is capable of. Some toddlers absolutely might love a train ride. Violet was just less than enthused! 

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The Best Parts

The food. It’s sounds so silly, but the food was so good and fun. Every evening, we ate at the dining room, called the Manhattan Room. It was a 3-course dinner where you pick an appetizer, an entree, and then a dessert, plus you can get drinks from the bar. It was… magical. It was my favorite part and even on really hard days, I looked forward to it. 

We also enjoyed the buffet, the Garden Cafe, for breakfast and lunch every day. There was always something for everyone, and they had a huge selection of fruits and vegetables at eat meal time. 

Forrest loved the pool, the arcade, and laser tag. The laser tag arena had very odd hours, so he was only able to go once, but he loved it. 

Violet primarily enjoyed the Guppy room, which was primarily a room for toddlers to play. It was great for her to have somewhere to go. Unfortunately, we did catch hand foot and mouth disease from the Guppy room, so my love for it is now 50/50. 

We had the unlimited drinks package and I will admit that being able to get a cocktail whenever I wanted to was a temptation too strong even for me. I loved getting a mai tai at dinner. Now that’s luxury! 

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The Hardest Parts

The timing of nearly everything is not set up for toddlers at all. The breakfast buffet opens at 6:30, perfect, she’s been up for an hour. None of the dining options opened before 5:30—and Violet’s bedtime is usually 6:30/7. By 5:30, she is in her prime freak out time: overstimulated and getting tired. Especially on the ship, I knew she was pretty much constantly overstimulated because of the sheer number of people around us. So that was hard. 

Thus, the days become loooooong. When you’re up at 5:30am (even with the time changing to Alaskan hours) and dinner ends at 7pm at the earliest, the day becomes so long, especially with just not a lot of space for a toddler to be active and entertained. By the time we were getting off the boat, I knew Violet was totally DONE with being on that boat (never mind that she also had the early stages of HFMD at that moment, so she wasn’t feeling great).

One other note here: I found out the last night that the medical center on the boat will not treat guests under the age of 3. So I guess if your toddler gets hurt or sick, the only options is to get you off the boat. If I had known that before the cruise, I’m not sure I would have actually gone because that does seem unsafe and a little scary. This might differ based on the cruise line (and honestly, it might have been something one employee told me because they didn’t want to take Violet’s temperature—I don’t know!), but just something to keep in mind, especially if you have a toddler with medical issues.  

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Would I Do It Again? 

When my kids are older, absolutely! I would personally not take a toddler on a cruise again. Here is my reasoning for why: 

• Finding out they don’t treat medical issues for under 3 years on the cruise ship scares me. 

• There simply isn’t enough for toddlers to do on a cruise ship and there isn’t enough space to let them safely wander/walk/explore. If you have a toddler like Violet who needs near constant stimulation, this is a nightmare. 

• Since Violet often needed a break, Danny and I would split up throughout the day. Without wifi or cell service at sea, we had no way to contact each other until we paid $200 for wifi. If my kids were older, I wouldn’t be so worried about splitting up and contacting each other—but not being able to text was rough for the first day. 

• 7 days was perhaps too long for Violet (and me). A shorter cruise I might consider taking a smaller child or toddler on… but 7 days was a lot. 

Have you been on an Alaskan cruise with a toddler or small kids? I’d love to learn about your experience in the comments!

Beauty Review: Locallure Lipsticks*

A few weeks ago, the brand Focallure reached out to me to review some of their products. It’s been a hot minute since I accepted products for review, but recently I’ve been trying to find passion for my hobbies again (there may or may not be a blog post or newsletter coming about this…) and it seemed like perfect opportunity.

Focallure is a brand primarily sold on Amazon—if you’ve ever started browsing for a lip product, you’ve probably run into them. They sent me 4 products in total: two of their metallic liquid lipsticks and two of their moisturizing lip balms. I’ll review the liquid lipsticks first, then the lip balms. Let’s dive in!

Focallure Metallic Liquid Lipsticks

I received the shades Painkiller and Dying Star. Painkiller is a metallic, super dark red. Dying Star is a pale, glittery pink—it has a lot of glitter.

When I first received this shade, Painkiller, I swatched it on Danny’s hand. When I tell you that swatch withstood nearly an entire day and I finally had to scrub it off of him with my Junoco Cleansing Balm, I’m being serious. This liquid lip has lasting power. And even better, it’s not actually as drying as I remember a lot of matte, superstay formulas to be. It’s not a day color for sure—but if you’re looking for a Halloween lip for a specific costume (or you’re maybe just more daring than me), this is a great option. It will withstand a lot of things.

The shade Dying Star is not nearly as dark as Painkiller and while it required some cleansing balm to remove after swatching, it doesn’t feel as nearly longlasting as Painkiller. It’s also a little more day appropriate—although, it is… so glittery. I had glitter everywhere. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s certainly a little inconvenient. I really like this shade and I think it would actually be a great topper for other lipsticks or with a gloss.

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Focallure Lip Balms

I received 2 of Focallures’s lip balms—one is a true balm that appears to be PH color changing (the left) and one is more tinted (left). Unfortunately, I can’t find these specific shades on their storefront, but there are similar varieties.

The true balm is really pretty—I mean, it has inset glitter. The packaging is also very cool; the cap is magnetic, so it makes it a little more sturdy for a purse. I didn’t realize it was color changing at first, but as I swatched it, I noticed how pink my lips looked. It wasn’t bad, but as we all know, those PH color changing products all go the same color of pink—so if you’re not a fan of that pink, it’s probably not for you.

The other balm had a color that reminded me very much of 2016. You know those very gray-toned mauve pinks that were slightly liver-y? It’s like that. It would probably look much better on a different skin tone, but it’s not for me. The formula was very hydrating, but again, it had so much glitter that removing it became an issue and I can’t imagine reapplying would be very fun. I would pass on these more lipstick-style lip balms, but I do like the true balm variety.

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Disclaimer: As denoted by the asterisk (*) in the title of this post, these products were sent to me for free in exchange for review. Posts like these help me keep the lights on here at WBP! If you’d like to learn more about my disclaimer policy, click here.

Review: Cocofloss Dental Floss

What a way to start a new blogging era, huh? Floss. Baby’s first review back on the blog grind? Floss.

But listen, I’m 35 years old now. I care about things like my dental health (and hey, we all should after all). And after 2 kids and plenty of years where I didn’t take as good of care of my teeth as I wish I had, I get excited about trying a new floss.

A few weeks ago, while scrolling Instagram, as you do, I got an ad for Cocofloss, a coconut fiber floss that is designed to make dental hygiene more fun (a cute look and yummy flavors), but also more beneficial (a fiber that helps grip bacteria between teeth). (You can learn more about the founders here.)

After a little browsing, I convinced myself to give it a try. Here’s a little context: I hate flossing. I do it every single day, but I hate it. My gums are one of my genetically terrible traits where I have to do a lot of upstream swimming to take care of them. I brush and floss twice a day and then use a special mouthwash every evening that is supposed to help my gum pockets. This is what a genetic weak spot and two pregnancies get you: when I go to get my teeth cleaned now, they call in a specialized hygienist who deals with people with gum issues. Devastating to my self esteem, frankly.

So a floss that would make my twice daily blight a little more fun is… worth a shot.

I ordered 2 products: the Happiness set and the Delicious Mint Dental Floss. The Happiness set is a set of 4 mini spools in 4 flavors: coconut, strawberry, mint, and orange. I got these primarily to 1) try a few flavors and 2) have some cute travel flosses. They are extremely adorable.

I ordered the larger Delicious Mint dental floss to have as my daily use floss.

The Happiness set was on sale for $15 when I ordered it; regularly, it’s $36. $36 is… quite a lot for 4 small spools of floss. $15 is definitely a much better deal. The single spool of Delicious Mint, which is roughly a 2 month supply, was $10 (and is still $10). That is a lot for floss, but it’s 2 months worth—so realistically $5 a month. As it is, I probably spend $5 a month on flossers.

I spent $25 total and shipping was free.

As I was writing this, I realized that there is a confetti cake flavor of floss. That’s incredible. They have a ton of flavors, so definitely do some poking around if you decide to order.

So, what do I think of the floss?

Floss is, at the end of the day, floss. But I do feel like I was able to get between my teeth better with Cocofloss than with traditional floss. My teeth are very close together (even my hygienist gets floss stuck between them frequently) which means I have to do a lot of extra work to get the bacteria that can linger at the gumline. I felt like Cocofloss got more gunk out with less effort. The floss itself feels coated and more fibrous than traditional dental floss, but it still glides between teeth pretty well. I felt like it allowed my special mouthwash to get closer to the gum line.

All in all, I liked the floss. It’s cute and it definitely has a strong, fun flavor. The mint has been my favorite so far, but Forrest, my 8-year-old, really loves the strawberry flavor. And if it gets my kid to floss more, I’ll pay $1 million even.

Would I recommend this floss? I think it really depends on your needs. Will I repurchase? Most likely, but I have pretty specialized dental hygiene needs. If you don’t, you can probably get by with your standard dental floss.

What is Self-Care versus Self-Soothing?

Self-care is important, especially if you struggle with your mental health. Even if you don’t, we all need ways of taking care of ourselves, of prioritizing rest and making time to focus on things that make us feel good.

But there is an aspect of self-care that often gets overlooked when it comes to mainstream articles: self-soothing. Self-soothing is part of self-care and often, self-soothing behaviors get used as examples of self-care. And while they certainly are, we have to start thinking of them separately in order to create a plan that works most effectively.

In this blog post, let’s talk about what self-soothing is versus what self-care is. Let’s jump in.

What is self-care?

Think of self-care as larger, overarching behaviors that help us meet our goals, grow as people, or just develop better habits. This might be things like: taking medication consistently on time; spending time outdoors or getting exercise; cleaning your home or apartment. These things might not necessarily be soothing or relaxing, but they may help us further on down the road.

What is self-soothing?

Self-soothing is more of a micro look at mental health. While self-care can help you repair after feeling burnt out, self-soothing can help you in a moment of distress. Examples of self-soothing might be things like going for a quick walk to get air, hugging a stuffed animal or blanket that makes you feel better, or smelling a candle or essential oil that you really enjoy. These things can help calm you down in moments of distress. So, self-soothing is a part of self-care, but they aren’t necessarily the same activities.

Is there anything wrong with self-soothing?

The short answer is no, as long as self-soothing behaviors are healthy. Unhealthy self-soothing behaviors provide temporary relief, but have negative consequences overall for your mental health; these can be things like substance abuse (such as drinking a glass of wine when you’re stressed), self-harm, or other compulsive behaviors.

This post was originally part of a series about mental health during the holidays. In order to kickstart my return to blogging, I am publishing it now.