Hi friends! Another busy and productive week on the books. I’ve been enjoying some time with my 2 year old, making an effort to spend one on one time with her, which was been a lot of fun for both of us. I’ve also been enjoying Tova’s new smiley stage; there’s really nothing better than a smile from a sweet, chunky little baby. On top of that, LOTS of fun work things happening. The second drop of SS16 will be out SO SOON. Putting the finishing touches on it, then photographing it, then… LIVE! You will absolutely love it, I’m sure of it. I can’t wait for you to see it.

Here are my 5 Friday Faves for the week of 5/19:

1. Lunch with Naomi at Tiny’s No. 5 – This is by far my favorite place to have lunch in Houston with my girls. The food is delicious, it’s extremely kid-friendly and you still feel like you’re at an adult place. My friend Carrie joined us, and Naomi was as entertaining as ever. She took maybe half a bite of her grilled cheese and devoured that head-sized blueberry scone. I don’t blame her one bit. And check out that blue nail polish!

2. Tova’s newborn pictures – We finally got the pictures back from the shoot we did when Tova was only a week or so old, and I am BLOWN AWAY by how incredible the pictures are! I love them all, and I loved working with my friend Melissa Fitzgerald for this fun, casual shoot at home. She really captured our family perfectly. I can’t wait to get some of these bad boys in frames around the house. More from this series next week.

3. A fun, (sort of) secret project – If you’re a small business owner in the Houston and surrounding areas, listen up: I, along with Beth DeLozier from Manor are teaming up for the most fun event, happening July 31, 2016. Stay tuned for more information, we’ll be announcing it and doing a call for vendors  very soon! Here’s a fun glitter-blowing shot from the promotional shoot we did this week.

4. Meal prep and meal planning – I don’t know what got into me this week, but I was a master of the kitchen! I think the spirit of Julia Child took over my body, though it couldn’t have been her, because I used literally no butter in any of my cooking. I made tons of healthy things, including a few lunches for Doug: ground buffalo, spinach and onions and spaghetti squash. Doug actually said to me he thought he was in the wrong house, with all the cooking going on. That’s fair, to be honest. I don’t cook much these days, but I’m proud of all my efforts! I even made this delicious and healthy buffalo chicken casserole for dinner and it was a huge hit.

I also tried making cauliflower mashed potatoes in the crock pot instead of the stove and it was way less messy and much more convenient. It obviously took longer to cook the cauliflower, but it was so much easier to just turn it on and leave than to have to stand over the stove stirring, making sure the water doesn’t bubble over. I used this recipe for slow cooker cauliflower mashed potatoes and it turned out great!

5. Togetherness time with my girls – I think I am finally ok with the fact that work is just going to have to wait sometimes. Life is a bit chaotic right now, but I keep trying to remind myself that it won’t be this way forever. I am going to miss these crazy days, miss my girls being babies, miss their sweet cheeks, miss their joyful, carefree smiles… I want to freeze this time and step back from it, and remind myself that the hard parts will fade to memory and only the good parts will stay with me. Watching them love each other is one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever gotten. Can’t take that for granted.