things i love // easter

Hi lovelies. Happy Easter. It’s so nice to see the bright sun and feel the warmth. My guys are SO excited to hunt for eggs and eat too much candy and to finally get to spend the day with grandma + papa IRL. But I feel like I’d be remiss not to recognize on this day of rebirth and renewal the unspeakable horror that my beloved hometown endured while our little family was away for break and that other communities continue to face with each passing week. My heart is so broken.

We did have a lovely break, tromping through the Utah desert in the sleet and snow and rain, but there was an unshakable cloud that hung over the adults in the group as we tried to forge ahead and enjoy the moment despite the suffering of our community. The kids were blissfully ignorant of the news until we got home and they had the best time on our trip, fully unplugged with no TV, tablets or laptops to distract them from the company of their friends and the goats and weather systems moving in and out of the stunning valley where we stayed. It was wonderful to hear their easy laughter and see the relaxed bliss on their faces.

So, the only thing I know how to do in the aftermath of what happened in my favorite place on earth is to even more fiercely celebrate life and love and the living the best I can, knowing that other families no longer have that privilege. I’m making Confetti Pancakes with Sparkle Syrup for breakfast and am taking LOTS of big, deep breaths outside with my face to the glorious sunshine. I’m stealing lots of hugs from my guys and trying harder to be present for them. Hug your own babies extra tight today and all of your loves and send just a little stash of your good Easter vibes and healing mojo to Boulder for the journey ahead. Thanks, lovelies. It means a lot. xo

In the very first Things I Love post, I introduced you to Lisa Congden’s new book, You Will Leave a Trail of Stars. Well, I finally got my copy this week and I’m here again to tell you just how awesome it is IRL. It’s a book full of GORGEOUS, whimsical, colorful and downright stunning illustrations, yes, but it’s also jammed with such profound wisdom. There are excellent quotes from some expected places, but also Lisa’s own sage advice and reminders (like “Embrace the Suck”) from lessons learned by overcoming her own adversity and challenge. This book would be a truly gorgeous and heartfelt gift for any grad, teacher, friend, sister, daughter or really anyone you know who is facing a transition, a challenge or just needing a bit of encouragement as they make their way. I can see myself using it as a super helpful parenting tool as well when my own words fail me as they did last week. Her words are concise and not fluffy, but meaningful and impactful and could bring about a true change in perspective for someone ready to receive it. Plus, it’s so beautiful to look at. You Will Leave a Trail of Stars will def be a new go-to gift for me.
// YOU WILL LEAVE A TRAIL OF STARS $15.95//

Ok, and while I am having a Lisa Congdon love fest, have you guys seen the new Mondo Llama line of art supplies at Target?! AAAAGH! I had to exercise my most severe restraint to keep myself from pulling at least one of each thing into my cart. It’s SO FUN and so reasonably priced and they have an exceptional variety of materials and kits for kids and adults alike. AND Lisa Congdon designed the rad packaging (and you might as well just throw some of her crazy adorable Method hand soap in your cart while you’re at it). You could put together a seriously bonkers gift from their awesome selection. I made off with the Paint-Your-Own Wood Pets Kit for an upcoming school give-away and the Give it a Swirl Tie Dye Kit for a fun sunny day activity for my boys (plus LOTS of white tube socks to dye). The Kickin’ Kaleidoscope Paint Pouring Kit and Paint By Number Canvas Kit would be amazing for older kids or t(ween)s. I had to back away super slowly from the 3D Multi-Surface Paint (really ALL of the amazing paint) and Bright Glitter Washi Tape, but will def be back for my little’s birthday. From beads to chalk markers to glitter glue, you could never go wrong making a seriously RAD gift out of anything in this line for any aged artists you love.
// MONDO LLAMA ART SUPPLIES from $2//

Oh you guys, this HOKA x Cotopaxi collab makes me so happy. I’ve been wanting to try a pair of Hoka’s forever and this might just be the push I need. The colors are so happy and fun and summer-ready. And I’ve admired Cotopaxi for years, drawn to their colorful aesthetic, but after listening to the How I Built This episode about their founder, Davis Smith, I liked them even more. The company’s “Do Good” creed is executed at every turn. One of the tenets of Cotopaxi’s super thoughtful and impactful business model is to give their employees full creative control over the pieces they sew; the employees get to choose the colors they use from the remnant fabric for every single piece they put together so that no two are the same, which I love. So if you order this Cotopaxi x HOKA ONE ONE Batac Del Dia Pack, you won't know exactly what you’re going to get, but you can be sure it’ll be colorful and so fun. Plus a portion of the proceeds from this collab are going to Big City Mountaineers, an organization committed to getting kids from disinvested communities into the outdoors. Both pieces from this drop are unisex and would be a fantastic Mother’s or Father’s Day gift for the outdoor lovers you love who appreciate a rad pop of color. This stuff will be gone in a flash, so think fast and bring ON those summer adventures.
// HOKA x COTOPAXI from $65//

JaxKelly handcrafts delicate, pretty and super affordable gemstone jewelry and candles out of San Diego. I picked up a pair of their Clear Quartz Mineral Points at Favor the Kind in Crested Butte a few months ago and have been wearing them a lot lately. They’re almost invisible on my ears from a distance, but I love how they refract the light and Quartz is said to have cleansing properties, which just feels right for me these days. I’ve been waiting patiently for them to restock their Mineral Points in other stones and they finally have, but… now I’m having trouble choosing. The Amethyst (healing), Amazonite (hope) and Rose Quartz (love) all look so pretty and I love the mojo they’re putting out. I also love the simplicity of these little Minimalist Hexagons and Moons. JaxKelly’s Crystal Candles are hand-poured in their studio and have different stones embedded in them that each carry a different intention, like Inner Peace (peach quartz), Calming (blue chalcedony) or Balancing (Dalmatian jasper). Just lighting a simple scented candle is said to have therapeutic benefits, so adding some intention and earthly energy might just kick it up a notch.
// JAXKELLY MINERAL POINTS $34//

If you have space in your heart and your wallet, please consider donating to the Colorado Healing Fund. This nonprofit was founded in 2018 by victim advocates and the Colorado AG’s office to give people a safe and efficient way to support victims of mass tragedy. I’m just so sad that their important work continues to be relevant over and over again. The CHF provides both immediate and long-term support to victims and their families, including their financial, emotional and physical needs. They work with community partners to effectively disperse the funds, so you can feel confident that your donation will get to the people who need it most.
// COLORADO HEALING FUND //

All images via @bouldercolorado

Hey! Just a heads up that this post includes affiliate links, but rest assured that I stand by all product recommendations 100%. Questions? Reach out, I’m always here for you. xo

things i love // let's hear it for the girls

This week I ignored the National Day of Unplugging so that I could help honor International Women’s Day instead. It felt like a decent trade-off to me; I’ll get to unplug in the Utah desert soon enough. So, all of the awesome companies featured in this edition of Things I Love are powered by inspiring and creative women (and a few of their husbands) who have followed their passions and built something beautiful. So many of the brands and products I’m drawn to happen to be woman-owned, so it was hard to choose just a few, but these are stand-outs and you’ll see many, many more amazing women-owned companies here as the weeks go by. I hope it inspires you to follow your passion too, even if just for an afternoon. I’m following mine right here with you, lovelies, so thanks for being part of my dream. xo

And just a little update on another super RAD woman that I introduced you to a few weeks ago… amazing process art teacher, Meri Cherry, just announced her latest Virtual Pop-Up Class or Kit and Class combo and it looks so GOOD. But, ‘hop’ to it so you don’t miss out.

And lovelies, if you ever have any questions about products or anything else that I share, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can leave a note in the comments below or email me. I’m here to help.

After one oddly long [very nerdy] text string with some lady loves about dental hygiene, I decided to really *try* to be more diligent about my flossing. I guess the years of being educated [shamed] by my dentist didn’t sway me, but one friend’s passion for it got me stoked. I mean, I obvs know in my mind that it’s super important, I just never really felt enough fire in my belly to make it a habit. Well, apparently all it takes to stoke that passion is a little peer pressure and some really fantastic branding, because I have found the fire and I’m IN. Cocofloss has been Insta-Stalking me forever and I finally totally took the bait. I’m SO glad I did. I mean, I know it’s a *little* dorky to get so jazzed about dental floss (okay, a lot dorky…), but let’s be honest, that’s never stopped me before. And when I dug in, I quickly discovered that Cocofloss has SO much going for it besides its top notch branding. It’s a fantastic company started by two sisters in California; Dr. Chrystle Cu is a dentist on a mission to fight tooth decay and her sister, Cat, is an artist who converted to flossing later in life and now helps spread the gospel with her phenomenal vision.

The sisters set out to develop a better floss to get people pumped and I guess I’m proof that it worked. Their floss is made in a small family-run factory in Italy, woven with 500+ textured strands to give it a great feeling and structure that really gets in between your teeth and drags out all the yuck. I usually like the ropy kind, not the flat slippery kind, and this has that same quality but it doesn’t come all unraveled while you’re flossing. It’s formulated with coconut oil, naturally aromatic fruit oil (also from Italy) and vegan wax, plus it’s completely non-toxic and Leaping Bunny certified. The floss comes in compostable refill packs to reduce waste and you can swap out the flavor for any of their 9 different appealing options any time you want to try something new. I started with good ol’ Delicious Mint and the flavor is super subtle. If you need to entice your kiddos to take up the habit, their new Tropical Trio offers exciting flavors, including Limited Edition Summer Watermelon, that taste like a gorgeous summer day and will make the job so much more fun.

And if that’s not enough to get you excited about what they’re doing, Chrystle Cu also raises money and volunteers her time helping school children in their parent’s native Philippines where debilitating tooth decay, even among the littlest kids, is rampant. So I totally DON’T feel like a dork getting excited about Cocofloss. I’m on day 13 of the 21 Day Challenge they sent with my first order (along with a ridiculously cute reminder sticker) and loving the new addition to my nightly routine. My boys are next up for the Challenge and I’m excited to see them develop what I hope will be a life-long habit. Because it’s SO well packaged and is such a fantastic company, Cocofloss would be an excellent self-care gift for anyone you love who’s already totally on board with flossing or who could use a little nudge like me. It would also be an adorable addition to an Easter basket, right next to the Peeps and Kinder Joy eggs. Time to nerd out, lovelies.
// COCOFLOSS DENTAL FLOSS from $9 //

My meal planning success is pretty varied. Some weeks I’m super inspired and I crush it like a lady boss. Some weeks it’s all spaghetti + meatballs or whatever I can throw together from my freezer. I obvs prefer the former because I don’t like to feel disorganized, but even on a good week, I sometimes forget what the abundance of produce in my refrigerator is actually for….like I make a plan, make a list, buy all the ingredients [most anyway, I seem to always forget one REALLY important thing] and then by Tuesday I can’t remember what I was going to make. I will occasionally write it down, but I’m just not in the habit. So, when Moglea, one of my favorite design studios, came out with a Meal Planner Notebook, I totally jumped on it. It just arrived today and is truly GORGEOUS; *almost* too pretty to use.

Moglea [pronounced moh-glee] is a letterpress and design studio in Des Moines, IA run by a visionary husband + wife team. They paint and dip-dye their whole range of stunning paper goods by hand before printing them on antique presses. So each and every piece is completely unique depending on which part of the larger sheet it came from. They make so many gorgeous things, from hand-painted cards and notebooks to wall clocks and gift wrap (not hand-painted, but printed in the US with their original artwork). I have one of their beautiful phone cases and get compliments on it all of the time, it’s just happy and lovely and feels special. They also have so many options for magical gifts for so many people on your list (love the fabulous playing cards). HINT: Mother’s Day will be here before we know it. And they’ve just launched some really pretty new designs for spring.

My Meal Planner Notebook is so beautiful that I’m sort of sad to write all over it, but I know it’s just what I need to help me remember what those turnips are doing in my produce drawer. The pages are printed with simple boxes for the days of the week and leave one space to write your meal and one for ingredients or notes. I can’t wait to start filling it up. If you’re an over-the-top detailed planner, Erin Condren has some next-level tools to help you nerd out. There are also some pretty options on Etsy or a big notepad version from Rifle Paper Co. Really any dedicated notebook would do, but I love the way the Moglea one is set up to keep me on track. Now I just need their beautiful Project Pad to keep the rest of my brain organized. Wait, what was I just talking about?
// MOGLEA MEAL PLANNER NOTEBOOK $16 //

While we’re actively, desperately trying to avoid one kind of fever from hitting home, there’s another type that I’m ALL IN for... yep, PUPPY FEVER has hit our little community hard. There are bumbling, trotting, exuberant little fluffballs everywhere you look and it’s so fun. As lots of you know, we lost our beloved old pup in December and while my heart isn’t quite ready to adopt a new fur baby of my own, I am loving all of the cutie K9s I get to see around. I have two besties “expecting” sweetie pups in the spring and early summer and I just can’t wait to smell their puppy breath and spoil them rotten (and then send them home to chew up someone else’s slippers). In honor of all of you new puppy parents (and old ones, too, love those sweet old buddies) I’m going to share a few awesome dog-loving companies with you in the coming weeks.

The Foggy Dog in San Francisco was founded by a clever dog mom with a mission to bring fabulous design to everyday poochie products. After all, you’re the one that has to look at that puppy bed in the middle of your living room everyday, so you might as well make it both comfy for your pooch AND a gorgeous part of your decor. I mean, who wants to look at a ratty old pile of stuffing when you could be staring at stunning Modern Mud Cloth instead? They also make completely adorable Bow Tie Collars, gorgeous Bandanas (you can have a matching mask if you’re jealous), darling Squeaky Toys (crazy cute felt toys for your kitty, too), pretty Marine Rope Leashes in tons of colors and gorgeous Waste Bag Holders for picking up puppy poop in style. The quality fabrics all come in a wide variety of really stunning prints and colors, some designed exclusively for The Foggy Dog by talented artists like Margaret Jeane.

And just in case you’re getting caught up thinking that The Foggy Dog is JUST about gorgeous aesthetics, let me assure you that they also have an equally stunning business ethic. All of The Foggy Dog’s products are made by hand in the US (almost entirely in their hometown). They partner with family-run businesses and pay the super skilled craftspeople fair wages for their work. They use recycled materials whenever possible, including for their bed + toy stuffing that diverts plastic bottles from the landfill. They practice low waste manufacturing and use natural fabrics all in an effort to reduce their footprint. AND for every purchase made, they donate ½ a pound of food to rescue shelters across the country. You can bet that when I’m ready for a new fluff ball, I’ll be headed straight to The Foggy Dog for the little tyke’s bed. Just *after* they grow out of that fierce slipper-chewing stage. If you’re local to Boulder, you can find a few of their things at Wildflower Nation downtown. Lucky dog.
// THE FOGGY DOG BED from $55 //

When my little guy was younger, he had a really hard time transitioning to bedtime. He has a VERY busy mind and it was [is] tough for him to shut it down for the night. So our OT suggested we spend some time coloring during the process; it’s something he loves to do, it grounds him and centers him and it turned out to be an excellent way to calm his mind a bit for sleep. Because we didn’t want to dive into a big project before bed, we started out coloring just one little sticker or I’d find a coloring book that had cool patterns and cut the pages into little bite-sized squares. Sometimes I’d find a package of tiny coloring pages. I was always on the hunt for something new and fun. And then I stumbled upon Omy’s Giant Posters.

Omy is a French company founded by two super clever artistic directors. Someday, when we’re allowed to go to Paris, their shop will be on my must-see list, right above the Eiffel Tower. They just create such whimsical + fun illustrations and their posters are epic. Because they’re so big, the poster allowed my little and I to color just a little section at a time. We would each choose a small area that we wanted to tackle for that session and when we finished, we were done for the night. The two of us went through TONS of markers (Omy has those, too!), but it was so much fun. The posters have themes that would inspire just about any kiddo [or adult], including t(w)eens.; everything from Video Games and Music to Pirates, Super Heroes and Dancers, plus a collection of maps of cities and countries both in the US and Abroad.

But Omy’s super creative line doesn’t stop there. You can also construct a big 3-dimensional mask of a Unicorn or Dinosaur that’s so colorful and fun it would bring a smile to anyone’s face. They have Small Posters, XXL posters, placemats, treat bags AND if you’re really ready to make their whimsical illustrations part of your decor, they just released Stick-it! temporary wallpaper that you can COLOR. What?! It’s awesome. You just peel, stick and color your way to super wowee walls and when you’re tired of looking at them or your kid starts shaving, you can just peel it right off. I love it. Just about any of Omy’s magical products would make a spectacular gift for the artistic littles [or bigs] in your life. Pair a Poster with a set of Felt Pens or Pencils and watch their clever eyes light up.
// OMY GIANT POSTERS from $16 //

If you follow along, you might already know that breakfast is my favorite meal any time of the day. I’ve always loved going out to breakfast or brunch, though I have a REALLY tough time deciding between savory and sweet and choosing just one fluffy breakfast carb that I can drown in syrup. So I usually end up with a truly ridiculous selection of This and That and walk out of the restaurant with my pants unbuttoned. Fortunately for me [and my pants], I don’t go out often (or ever in the last 12 months), but I do make pancakes, waffles and french toast at home on a regular basis because my boys love them, too (and I can hide all kinds of collagen and flaxseed and good stuff in them). I have always bought + loved organic pure maple syrup to top our treats and cook with, but I have discovered something two steps beyond.

Runamok Maple is a Vermont-based husband + RAD wife team that produces super delightful Pure Organic Maple Syrup and then infuses it with gorgeous botanicals, fruits and other interesting ingredients to makes creative, delicious new flavors, like Ginger Root, Cardamom, Smoked Chili Pepper and Hibiscus. They also barrel-age some of their pure maple in Whisky, Bourbon and Rum barrels to create something totally sophisticated and new. And they produce maple-based cocktail mixers and bitters, like Smoked Old Fashioned and Ginger Mule that are equally unique and would make REALLY beautiful gifts for the craft cocktail makers in your life.

I picked up a beautiful bottle of Strawberry Rose Infused Syrup on a whim at my local Whole Foods and it’s so delightful. I was a little afraid that the strawberry infusion might be too sweet, but it’s really just a lovely subtle hint and truly divine. I’ve been pouring it over my Banana Oat Blender Pancakes and extra toasty Birch Benders Paleo Waffles and it's so yummy. And this week, Runamok will start shipping their Limited Edition Sparkle Syrup. Yes, you heard me correctly, but just in case, I’ll say it a bit louder; SPARKLE SYRUP. It’s a batch of their perfect pure organic maple combined with an edible mica that makes it shimmer like a mermaid’s scales. They produced it with the sole goal of making people smile and it for sure will. I’ve already pre-ordered mine, because… well, sparkles. I’m going to save it for a fun birthday morning surprise for my little guy and I can’t wait. Runamok Maple also holds themselves to the highest stewardship standards, sticking firmly to the belief that protecting the land is their first priority. Their passion for the land, the process and the product is evident and admirable. So until I can go out to a giant restaurant breakfast, you’ll find me at home happily drowning my pancakes in one of Runamok’s gorgeous infusions. And even when I can go back, I might just bring my own syrup.
// RUNAMOK MAPLE SPARKLE SYRUP $16.95 //