Hello friends! I have a bonus post this week, and I thought that with the seasons changing, I would write all about unique seasonal baby names. I think there's nothing cuter than paying homage to when your baby was born by giving him or her a seasonal name, and these are slightly more unique than Summer for a summer baby or Nicholas for a Christmas baby. I have 80 names in total, girls' names listed first (although many are gender-neutral, it's just how I prefer them, and followed by meaning), so let's get started!
Winter:
- Noelle (Christmas) // Noel (Christmas)
- Aspen (aspen tree) // Frost (frost)
- Holly (holly berry) // Olwen (white footprint)
- Lumi (snow) // Colden (dark valley)
- Iclyn (compassionate) // Aubin (white)
- Alaska (great land) // Crispin (curly-haired)
- Eira (AY-ra: snow) // Oakley (oak tree)
- Wren (small songbird) // Aster (star)
- January (first month) // Tannon (fir tree)
- Neva (snow) // Holmes (holly)
Spring:
- Flora (flower) // Attwell (lives by the spring)
- Arizona (little spring) // Denver (green valley)
- Maelyn (May) // Caldwell (from the cold spring)
- Maia (May) // Wilton (from the farm by the spring)
- Leilani (heavenly flower) // Lark (songbird)
- Fleur (flower) // Rowan (rowan tree)
- Mailee (May) // Holden (from the hollow in the valley)
- Nova (new) // Knox (round hill)
- Zara (dawn) // Ryland (from the rye fields)
- Kalina (kalina flower) // Pax (peace)
Summer:
- July (youth) // August (great)
- Ruby (gemstone) // Phoenix (deep red)
- Electra (fiery sun) // Orion (son of fire)
- Mira (of the sea) // Tide (ocean movement)
- Waverly (from the quaking aspen meadow) // Beckett (bee cottage)
- Isla (island) // Dax (water)
- Kyra (sun) // Leo (lion)
- Idalia (beyond the sun) // Bay (auburn-haired)
- Marina (of the sea) // Reed (redhead)
- Vega (eternal laws) // Arnett (little eagle)
Fall:
- Fauna (young deer) // Fox (fox)
- Peregrine (wanderer) // Barrett (mighty as a bear)
- Sage (wise one) // Forrester (keeps the forest)
- Scarlett (scarlet red) // Crimson (crimson red)
- Rhea (goddess of fertility) // Radley (red meadow)
- Eve (to live) // Fletcher (arrow maker)
- Ginger (ginger root) // Saffron (saffron spice)
- Sparrow (sparrow) // Sawyer (cuts timber)
- Maize (MAY-zee: corn) // Lennox (elm tree)
- Aurelia (golden) // Birch (birch tree)
I wish you all the best,
Erin
Hello friends! It's been a long time since I've done a favorites post, simply because I don't accumulate enough stuff to love within a month. I do love a good favorites post, though, so from here on out I'll be doing seasonal favorites. I'll be keeping track of my loves throughout the season, and write up a post when the season ends, and certainly without specific categories and limits like I had before. So here we go, Stuff I Love Summer 2016.
- Baking - If you've seen anything consistent on this mess of a blog, it's baking posts. Baking is what I absolutely love to do; I love making people happy and bringing them together over something simply and tasty. My dream is to open a bakery exactly for those reasons, so I'm getting all the practice in that I can before that time comes.
- Food Network - I'll be the first to call myself out and say I'm more like a 50's housewife than a young millennial. Because I love everything food, Food Network is like my kryptonite. I can't ever get enough; I have it on in the background all the time, I try the recipes, I cook like I'm talking to a camera... It's just the perfect thing for a foodie like me.
- Dunkin Donuts App - I may have mentioned coffee on here once or twice (or a billion times), and, plain and simple, this app feeds the addict in my like no other. It's a way to pay digitally, so that's good, but I also get points every time I go in and those points get me free drinks. I also always have other perks and rewards waiting for me, so really everybody wins.
- Iced Coffee - Hey look, more coffee! I went from being a no-coffee-ever girl to a two-to-three-cup-a-day girl in a matter of weeks, so this should be no surprise.
- Textured Ponytails - Midwest summers are the creation of Lucifer himself. From mid-May to mid-October, it's hot and sticky and buggy and just gross, and there are only so many socially acceptable ways to keep cool while looking nice. Enter textured ponytails to solve all my problems: I put my hair in French braids after I shower at night, and then wake up with insane texture. I do a little poof at the top of my head, pull the rest back, and then tease for volume and spray with sea salt spray to keep that texture. I finish by pulling out some pieces to frame my face, and then I'm good to go. The humidity will never again claim my straight hair as its victim.
- Harry Potter Weekend - Freeform (formerly ABC Family) does Harry Potter Weekend about four times a year, and I live for it. That said, I'm the biggest baby and can't watch anything after Goblet of Fire because they all give me nightmares, but gosh darn it, I try every time to make it through. It's a life goal. Sad? Nah.
- Wedges - I'll be starting a Story Time series sharing my embarrassing stories and "Why me?" moments shortly after this goes up, but I'll give a sneak peek here: I'm so ungraceful it pains me. Which means walking in heels is actually a huge hurtle for me. Can't do it. However, wedges are a different story. I love wedges, and summer is definitely wedge season. Added bonus: I'm fairly tall, so wedges make me feel like a giant ready to conquer anything. It doesn't get better than that.
- Hairspray - No, not the hair product, but the musical. Specifically the 2007 movie version. It's been my summer soundtrack and the thing I watch when I've run out of videos on YouTube and don't want to restart Friends for the zillionth time on Netflix.
- Summer Dresses - I've never been a dress wearer. Never. Well, maybe before I started dressing myself, but that doesn't count. I've been missing out! I wear them to work all the time, and it's the best thing because dressing for work is the most stressful kind of dressing. I throw it on and I instantly look 1000x more presentable than I did before.
- Colorado - If you ask anyone I've spoken to in the last few weeks, they will tell you that my favorite thing is Colorado because I just won't shut up about it. I miss is every day, and I've already started scouting out the best place to move there when I'm done with school. If I could go back now, I absolutely would.
- Name Videos - I have a slight obsession with names. Maybe a bit more than "slight." Like, I have lists and sibling sets and follow Instagram name accounts, but my favorites are YouTube name vloggers. It's just so interesting learning about names and hoping for the future, hearing other people's choices and learning their tastes. I'm hooked.
- Everything Bagels - Confession time: Until about six months ago, I was convinced that everything bagels are called everything bagels because they're good for everything, toasting, sandwiches, etc. It was only when I said that that my mom looked at me and said, "Are you serious? It's because they put everything on them, like the seeds and the onion and everything." Regardless, I still think they're good for everything, hence I eat them all the time.
Let me know if you have any suggestions on posts you'd like to see in the future, and also be sure to find me on Instagram as streamers.of.consciousness
I wish you all the best,
Erin
Hello friends! I don't know about you, but I absolutely love painting my nails. Here's how I keep my nails in peak condition plus my top 10 nail polish picks for the summer:
The Care: I paint my nails once a week, so it's super important that they stay as healthy as possible. I make sure they're always clean and trimmed so they don't break, and I make sure I use a special tool to remove surface ridges to make the polish apply smoothly (I like the four-sided bricks with a file and three-step smoothing sides). But most importantly, I always, always, always use a base coat - it keeps the polish from staining and damaging the nails - and a top coat to keep everything lasting as long as possible.
My Summer Top 10:
- Julep "Hope" - This white-hot polish is a satin finish, so it looks semi-matte when dry. Adding a normal top coat will take away the matte finish, so I always use a matte top coat with this color.
- Essence "Don't Be Shy!" - This neon yellow-green is one of the colors from the gel line, so it's super glossy.
- Essence "Indian Summer" - This is another from the gel line, and its neon pastel coral color makes it a true summer hue.
- Sephora Formula X "Power Source" - This neon red is what's on my hands right now, and it's survived about a week with minimal chips. (The picture is of a sample, hence it's tininess.)
- Sinful Colors "Lie-Lac" - This pastel purple is a perfect transition from spring into summer.
- Sinful Colors "Amethyst" - This is a darker, mid-tone purple, so it's great when I want something darker but still fun for summer.
- Julep "Bailey" - This is my favorite shade of blue for nail polish (especially for the Fourth of July - very patriotic). The only downside is that it's very gelly and sheer, so it takes a few coats to build up to the full color.
- Revlon Colorstay "Costal Surf" - This bright sky blue has an amazing brush - it's a bit flat and wide, so it covers the nail like a dream.
- Essence "Play With My Mint" - Can you tell I like the Essence gel polishes? This minty blue-green is bright enough to hold its own against more neon summer colors.
- Julep "Winter" - Despite the name, I think this super light gray is the perfect alternative to true nudes that are popular in the summer.
I wish you all the best,
Erin
Hello friends! My family and I love to take road trips in the summer, and this year is shaping up to be the best one yet. Not only is it the four of us, it's also my cousin and her parents - when all of us are together, it's like being in a bad comedy, and it makes for hilarious stories. I'll write up a post at the end of the summer sharing our experiences, but for now, here's everything we're planning for our epic road trip, complete with tips, fun ideas, and more.
1. Pick a New Destination When we started talking about where we are going to go, we all
decided that a new place is always more fun. The powers that be (the parents) gave us
a set radius to travel in, and they pretty much let my cousin, my brother, and me pick
the destination. We settled on a mountain town in the Rocky Mountains. None of us
have ever been there, and there are a surprising number of things to do there, making
sure there's something for everyone.
2. Have a Trip Theme This is probably the lamest thing anyone could ever do, but having a
theme for your trip makes it so much more fun. We have a theme song (John Denver's
amazingly ironic "Rocky Mountain High," also the official name of the trip), code names
(all bean-based, i.e. Jelly Bean, Frijole, Bean Sprout, etc., and particularly fun if the
theme for the names has absolutely nothing to do with the trip), trip hats (custom with
a logo and our code names), and playlists to fit the theme.
3. Rent a House, Not a Hotel Room With seven adult-size people, renting a few hotel
rooms costs as much, if not more, than renting a whole house, especially if it's split
between a few families. Our house has plenty of room for everyone, multiple
bathrooms, and a full kitchen, which means we can do some grocery shopping when we
arrive and save a whole lot on food expenses because we'll be eating at the house more
than eating out.
4. Plan Activities for Everyone Where we are staying, obviously the main attraction is
the mountains, with lots of trails and activities, but there are also hot springs, gondola
tours, golf courses, an amusement park, little shops, and nearby ski resorts to scope
out during the off-season. With a little of everything, you ensure everyone leaves
happy.
5. Don't Spend All Your Energy During the Day Some of my favorite vacation memories
aren't even of the actual trip and the things I saw, but of the time my family spent
together at the end of the day. We absolutely love board games and card games, and
the seven of us always manage to make it so by the end, nobody is playing and
everyone is in tears laughing. It's especially fun if you bring new games, because
nobody reads directions and it just adds another level of hilarity. These nights are
also the perfect occasions to sit around a fire with a whole bunch of s'mores and
hot dogs, which just scream summer and make for great memories.
6. Leave Wiggle Room The great thing about going somewhere that doesn't need tickets
like an amusement park is that you can go without a detailed itinerary and decide what
you want to do as the days come.
I wish you all the best and safe, fun travels,
Erin
