May felt like a really busy month with people visiting, us spending a lot of time outside, my birthday, etc. But also, I love May. Here in New York City, it is usually the month with the most perfect weather: warm – but not too warm, busy – but not too crowded (except for Memorial Day Weekend). Since, we were gone to Europe for half of April, May also felt much like enjoying home and our routines. Unfortunately, the routine of daycare also came with a new toddler cold for all of us. That is how I fell even more in love with my facial steamer. Besides, quite a few things made it into my favorites category in May:
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Fashion
I think I did pretty well with not buying too many things when we were in Europe in April. But one of my few purchases is my red linen dress from Dunnes Stores in Ireland. And I love love love it! I have already worn it so many times. It has the perfect color, the perfect cut, and even pockets.
Until recently, I didn’t even know that nursing bras can be also pretty. I have a practical set that has served me well while breastfeeding Josephine and now Ophelia. But then I discovered this Marks and Spencer maternity bra set – and it is actually pretty. Well, and convenient.
Kids
We have met a new milestone: Josephine plays a first board game with us. I was lucky to find First Orchard used on Facebook and bought it for only $10. The game is super simple, teaches Josephine mostly how to take turns and how to role dice, and we all enjoy the beautiful wooden pieces
The other really cool thing was that we went to the theater with the whole family for the first time. “Bluey” is very popular in this household. So, when we saw that there would be a 50 minute “Bluey” show in the Kings’ Theatre in Brooklyn, we immediately bought tickets. Josephine in particular loved the play. It is, of course, targeted to small kids – they get to sing and dance along, and there are bubbles at the end. I must say that I was very impressed how well she paid attention the whole time.
Reading
I still love reading magazines. But since we only have so much space and I tend to keep them forever, the best solution is e-magazines. One I have subscribed to for several years already is the British Vegan Food & Living magazine. And the latest issue is simply amazing. In the last few weeks, I tried so many of their recipes (e.g. cucumber sushi boats, bean shakshuka, tofu mushroom pasta – and they all turned out great. They don’t just make it easier for us to eat vegan, but also properly plant-based. I always love when Josephine enjoys eating the dishes. That means that they are really tasty. And she really ate a lot of all of them.
In May, I discovered the Harley James mystery adventure book series and read all five books. Harley is a tween who travels the world with her archaeologist dad and finds herself in various mysteries and adventures. She also needs to make new friends wherever she goes. I found the books very well written, esp. for the middle school genre. Because I enjoyed them so much, I even ordered them for two girls in our extended family who are soon going to move to another country and surely will experience their own big adventures.
Beauty
I had maybe bought my facial steamer more for a wellness feeling. But then a toddler cold hit us all. Saying that, we had been lucky and without any daycare virus for about two months. So when my nose turned into a snot factory, my facial steamer was the perfect device to inhale steam and make my sinuses feel better.
Already in March, I decided to live healthier. My body hates losing weight as long as I nurse. But I finally found a way to nudge it: a protein shake for breakfast. Turns out that that keeps me full for longer and I snack less. I also have a bigger water intake this way (I always mix the powder with half a liter of water). While trying different protein powders, I loved my mint chocolate protein powder in May. And I finally see proper results: in May I lost about 4 kg.
A bottle of summer on the beach. That is the Ellis Brooklyn Miami Nectar eau de parfum to me. Normally, I am not a fan of coconut anything, but here the coconut note vanishes fast. For the rest of the day, I just smell like I were on a wonderful vacation in the sun.
Last, but not least, I got to try the Act + Acre Cold Processed Scalp Detox Oil and am a big fan. It is so easy to apply a few drops of the oil just before I wash my hair. Since I lost a huge amount of my hair postpartum, I try to tend to the remaining bit especially well. This oil definitely moisturizes my scalp and breaks down some of the constantly accumulating dirt.
