I’m not sure where my days go anymore. After the last year, that feels like a good thing. We had such a nice weekend – it felt so good to spend so much time outside. It started with Margot’s ballet class in our yard followed by a playdate with her friend Colette. And it’s been so good reconnecting with one of the first friends I made through blogging. The girls are so sweet together and it’s so fun to see a real friendship forming. Conor and I even go to relax for 40 min while the girls miraculously napped at the same time, and we’ve been sitting on the patio after the girls go to bed, too. Q&A: Life in the Suburbs

Q&A: Life in the Suburbs

Margot has been playing with her mud kitchen and chalk and Kate mostly sits/crawls on her outdoor play mat and plays with these. Our house has been feeling so good lately, and maybe that’s because we’ve been spending more time outside so we’re not destroying it as much as usual? We planted almost a dozen hydrangea bushes and I picked up a variety of small white flowers, and gardened in the 90+ degree heat. I found two beautiful topiaries and ordered a few of these for home delivery. 

Here are some of the questions that were asked on instagram earlier today. 

Please link the GLAAD petition to encourage the senate to pass the equality act. 

If you care about basic human rights please please sign this petition. It takes less than a minute. 

How are you doing? 

Thank you for asking. I am the happiest that I’ve been in a long time. The girls are doing well and we’re in a good groove. I’ll need to write more about life and how things are going soon, but it has been so good for my mental health to be able to slow down a bit, focus on my family, work with flexibility, and to enjoy life with our girls. 

I started a support group (via Marco Polo) and within a few days, had 36 moms in our group. Most of us are sharing diagnosis stories and it’s been both heartbreaking and therapeutic. Lots of tears, especially when we get to the point when we found out it was cancer. These women are amazing and this feels like the start of something that will hopefully help a lot of moms get through the trauma of treatment. If you’re a mom going through treatment and are interested in joining, please message me on instagram. 

How is Margot doing? 

She is incredible. Thriving. Jumping, dancing, and singing her way through life. I can’t believe she’s going to be three next month, and that at the end of July, we’ll be one year away from being done with treatment. Still a long way to go and some catching up to do, but I prefer to leave most of those details offline. The important thing to know is that she’s doing so so well. The three month blocks between our five day steroid pulses are wonderful and feel normal. Just one clinic day a month is the most welcome change from going every 7-10 days for 8 months.

We’re able to see more friends outside and even went out to lunch outdoors a few times – getting out more has been huge for her, and I’m just hoping vaccinations will come for her age group soon so she can go to preschool.

Margot's Tutu

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Q&A: Life in the Suburbs

I just had a miscarriage at 6 weeks. Advice on resuming TTC post loss? 

It’s such a sad, painful, and confusing thing to go through. I am so sorry you’re going through it. It’s ok to feel sad and it’s important to remember that you are not alone. The loss and pain were very real for me, and even though I knew how common miscarriages are, I still felt so alone.  This post on grieving an early miscarriage might help. I got pregnant with Kate the month after my miscarriage at six weeks and stories like that gave me hope. Sending you so much love. 

How did decide on a Chicago suburb? 

I didn’t want to leave the city or give up on parking or space. A house sounded so easy when I was 7 months pregnant and needed a home. Ultimately, you have to decide what matters to you. We really wanted a diverse suburb that wasn’t too far from the city, so that made the choice pretty easy for us. We also had a few friends out here, but I’d say those were the top priorities. 

How did you know your house was the one? 

My husband is a realtor and I have a lot of opinions (and don’t like to waste my time), so we didn’t look at very many houses. This house was move-in ready and I was very, very pregnant. It was cute and had all the basics – great yard, storage, fireplaces, and was built in the 30s. A good size but not too big. We loved it. 

Toddler water shoes? 

I got a few questions about water shoes. Margot loves these. She has white and light pink. 

Can you share a link to your baby gate? 

I hired safety matters to install our baby gates so I’m not sure of the brand, but this looks very similar. 

Baby Gate

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Carpet cleaner? 

This is the holy grail.

Bedding that isn’t white? 

Here are some options I’ve come across:

This chambray duvet cover is beautiful.
This linen bedding comes in a variety of colors, too.
Love this blue striped duvet. 
These striped linen shams.
More linen stripes. I have a look.
There are some lovely (but pricey) options here.

Basement floors? 

It’s vinyl flooring by Divine Flooring. It looks like our style is no longer made by the brand.

I’m considering a Clek car seat. Is there anything to be wary of? What do you love most? 

I’m happy with our Foonf car seats and would recommend doing your research. It’s one of the safest car seats on the market – love the rebound bar and Q tether. It is more narrow than the Rava (which I also loved – we kept that for Conor’s car) so I can fit them side-by-side (passenger and middle). Margot seems to have a bit more room in this and looks more comfortable. Bonus: it’s pretty. 

Can you please link your striped outdoor chairs? 

Of course. Here you go. Reminder that almost everything you see on instagram can be found in my shop. 

Can you please share your baby sunscreen again? 

Tubby Todd! We love it. 

Kitchen counter stools? 

Here you go. And here’s the “shop my home” section of my shop.

Details on your outdoor fence? 

It’s cedar and was installed by Freeman Fence. We love how it’s aged the last (almost) three years.

Who painted the painting in your bedroom? 

Meredith Sands

Your tea set? 

It’s Burleigh. 

Flash cards Margot was looking at in your car? 

These are great and I like that they’re on rings so they don’t end up everywhere. 
These do end up everywhere but are so thick/solid but I really like them.

What do you use to curl your hair? 

Thank you! His name is Blake Christensen and he works at Thomas West Salon. 

I’ve gotten fairly decent at giving my hair a little wave with this.