Welcome to Friday Five, where I share five things that are on my mind in the hopes of helping you connect to your Mom Flow. What is a ‘mom flow’? Those sometimes fleeting moments where you feel in your groove, you’re flowing in the moment, maybe even feeling contentment.
I took quite a break from writing here and it’s only because I really do put a lot of effort into these posts and things were absolutely craaaaazy for a few months (selling and buying a home, 6 weeks of travel to Europe…). I am going to be back with a regular weekly post, but it may not be in a Friday Five format. Still fine tuning, but let’s get into it!
P.S: don’t forget to listen to this like a podcast using the article voiceover feature at the top of this post.
☀️ Euro summer lessons
The breath of fresh air that is Europe. I never want to forget how freaking different I feel about the cycle of buy buy buy more more more when I get back from six weeks in Europe. The way they focus on living life and enjoying it instead of buying more stuff and looking at that as ‘status’ or ‘success’ really is everything. How we have gotten caught up in making more to buy more bc *happiness* is such a big nothing burger - stuff doesn’t make life worth living. Sign me up for experiences, time with family, not letting consumerism cloud every single aspect, and teaching my daughter the same. I love that she will grow up spending summers in Europe and seeing how they do it there. Lots more to come on this because it’s a biiig conversation.
🙃 Life with a 4 year old
Lola just turned 4 and lemme tell ya, 4 is really a whole other can of worms! Nothing prepares you for having a little sidekick that calls you on everything, asks you a million questions a day (mom, mom, mom), has meltdowns (but is too smart to let you talk them out of it), and needs more to do. I think because she’s out of her schedule and has been for 6 weeks, she’s a little extra, but mama is tired and excited for her to be back in daycare because it’ll give her a little break from us, and let her play with kiddos her age. She is obsessed with being bigger, older, but is too ‘tired’ to put her plate in the kitchen. It actually cracks me up, love this kid so much. Cheers to 4!
🏠 Contentment of home
Settling into out new home now that we’re back feels so so special and amazing. I love being in a neighbourhood. I’ve lived in Vancouver for 20 years and have been in an apt or condo ever since, so this is a huge change and feels very different. ICYMI, we moved into a duplex and we are so content here. We had our first dinner party and hosting our friends here was the best! I loved cooking dinner in our new kitchen, and seeing the kids play together in the backyard. So surreal. We live only a few minutes from Roberto’s parents now and that’s made life feel more full and simple - they get to pop over easily. I promise I’ll give you a home tour on IG sooooon!
📺 What to watch
In Europe, we ended up watching a few hours of TV a week, and I thought I’d catch you up on what we are loving to watch as a couple, because when you have a new show to watch, life just feels better:
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (great show, and omg I love Donald Glover)
Owning Manhattan (could this be my fave of this genre?!)
The Bear (season 3 is shaping up to be a good one)
Presumed Innocent (loved this one, lots of twists)
Love Island USA season 6 (watching this alone but like, I do notttt get the hype… trying hard bc I need a solo show, but it’s just maybe not my thing! Reminds me too much of a Big Brother feel and is there anyone of substance there or am I just not getting it lol)
*on the plane back home I finalllly watched Barbie (I KNOW) and I cannot believe how good it was. I was blown away by the subtext of the entire movie. I also watched and really liked Priscilla!
😍 A few things you might like
Lots to catch you up on with some of these new things we are loving around here.
I can confirm that linen sheets are very much worth the hype! I love our new Wilet bedding, and even Roberto has woken up several times since we got them in disbelief that they help him sleep so much better. Cooling, soft, and they just feel amazing. Use code ERIN10.
It was time to swap Lola’s grandparent/travel car seat to something bigger, and the Graco Tranzitions was the choice. It’s a harness with the ability to move into a booster when need be and we love it.
My skin broke out a bit with all the travel, especially on my chest, so I am using these glycolic pads that I really like (and I also use on my underarms to cut the stank… trust me, it works!)
That’s it for this week. If you like this content, please tap the heart or leave a comment. Maybe even consider forwarding it to a friend who would love this content. I would love for this community to grow!
xx, Erin
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Love reading your newsletters! I tried listening to the voiceover for the first time today and will continue to do this for future posts! It was great! I love when you share your recent purchases - clothing, makeup, house, baby etc.
Welcome home, Sousa’s!
Even though my ”kids” are all grown up, I still enjoy reading your Friday newsletter. I know this is a busy time in your life, so if it doesn’t work for you to send it out every week, your community will totally understand! 💖💖💖