I love a good random thoughts blog post. Amber does these posts called, “12 Things” and they are my favorites to read. Yesterday I had a million thoughts going on and wanted to write them all down in this post {and, of course, the thoughts had nothing to do with the outfit #typical}, so I decided we might as well list them out!

1. I LOVE when strangers go out of their way to give you a compliment. I always think of those as little “God winks” because he knows you need them. Yesterday morning was a little hectic and I was feeling emotional about a million things. I decided to take Maxi to Panera for lunch to just get my mind off of it. As I’m getting her lunch situated and cutting her food and not thinking a thing about it, the nicest elderly woman came over. She said, “You’re doing a great job. She is so happy and I can tell you are her world.” So cue me crying in Panera. Somehow she must have known I needed that because it completely changed my day. It’s my goal to go out of my way to compliment 3 other women this week to pay it forward.
2. I also got a car wash for the first time in ages yesterday. I’m borderline obsessed with a good car wash and mobile car detailing. Prior to being a mama, I got them weekly. You know how some people are very faithful to the gym {I envy you!}, I was faithful to my University Car Wash. Now I get them…well you don’t want to even know how rarely I get them. I haven’t prioritized them. But anyways, I prioritized it yesterday and I feel like a new woman! Beep beep- happiness coming through! I also recommend that you purchase a car decontamination kit to ensure that your vehicle is properly decontaminated. To those who prefer to wash their car at home, may consider getting a home car wash system.
3. I’m living for a drugstore foundation as of recently. I kind of think it is a fabulous dupe for my go-to Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation, which almost feels sinful to say. I adore that stuff! It wears very similarly, great for normal to dry skin with a buildable medium coverage. The biggest difference is my Charlotte Tilbury lasts a full 12 hours, and this can start to separate by hour 8, but I’m fine with that for drugstore foundation. My dupe foundation is Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Treatment Makeup and I’m in shade 130 Buff Beige. I apply it all over with the sponge and then blend in with my makeup brush or beautyblender.
4. In case you were wanting a new Starbucks drink, my summer drink is: Venti Passiontango Iced Tea, unsweetened, light coconut milk with 2 pumps of sugar-free vanilla. It’s delish!
5. Did anyone watch The Staircase on Netflix?! What did you think?! I am almost finished, but of course, I’m reading every article I can find online. I get sucked into these shows and then wonder where my evening went.
6. Speaking of time going by, I’ve been at the dentist what feels like the entire past week, locally this time even though I generally get dental work in Mexico since it’s cheaper and equally well done. I never had issues, cavities or problems until I was pregnant. Anyways, we had to fix something that happened back then and I’ve been at the dentist 24/7! If you’ve had a lot of dental work in your life, bless you. Mouth pain is no joke. I have to visit again today and I’m like, “Mom, I don’t waaaaaaaaant to!!!” ha!
7. I haven’t had meat {minus one date night where we had oysters and scallops} since Disneyland, so I’ve been trying out new vegetarian recipes. Maxi will not eat meat {the girl turns down Chick Fil A!!} and then my mom and sister got salmonella from chicken earlier this month. They were in the hospital for 3 days and it was horrible. Naturally, none of us are brave enough to eat it at the moment. I was a pescatarian in high school so I’ve kind of inadvertently gone back to that, I guess. I started to use Plated after Disneyland for some vegetarian meals and it’s quite the blessing. ha. Any vegetarian dishes you ladies love?!
8. I finished The Woman in the Window last night! It was good, but the first 60% was just beyond slow to me. However, it will be a movie so I forced myself to finish. I would definitely recommend it as a good pairing book. If you’re reading something heavier {say a religious book or parenting book} you could start this book with that and not feel overwhelmed. The ending is great. Up next?! Love and Logic for Early Childhood {parenting book} and The French Girl.
9. 16-months for Maxi has been just an incredibly affectionate age. She has a lot of emotions {including unhappy meltdowns 😉 } and is really learning to show love. She will walk over and give hugs and pat you on the back. She will grab your face and kiss you over and over again. My photographer Angie was over this week and when Angie went to leave and Maxi just went over to give her a big hug and kiss. It was so sweet to see her show love to someone that she doesn’t see daily.
10. As I’m writing this, I’m thinking, “I hope this doesn’t make my monthly favorites post super repetitive. Here I am talking about the book I read and my current foundation, etc.” haha.

Now I’m off to go to the apple store so they can try to fix my speaker on Insta Stories. A toddler in the apple store. Godspeed to me!