It’s been a while since I’ve said hello here on this blog, and I sure do miss you guys! There’s been a lot going on in our world over the last couple of months, so I figured a good ‘ol Friday Favorites round-up would be a fun way to catch up and share some musings before I get back to more structured content.
I’m not going to cover everything, but I’d like to mention a few things that have come up and kept us busier than ever … with the biggest being the laborious task of managing our apartment. If you follow LIL on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen glimpses of the crazy state of our apartment while we got exterminated – twice.
Longtime readers might remember our run-in with bed bugs about a year into living in NYC. While some might be embarrassed to talk about it, it’s actually quite typical here … almost everyone I’ve talked to is like “yeah, now you’re a New Yorker!” (Um, what?)
I’m not going to harp on this subject because — trust me — it could evolve into an entire post on its own, but I’ll just close on it with some thoughts of acceptance:
It doesn’t matter how clean you are, if your building has them, you will most likely get them. If your building doesn’t treat them properly, they can and will come back no matter how much you treat your space. And last, preparing your space for a spray is almost as involved as moving. We’ve treated our apartment a total of three separate times, so if you need any tips on how to do it as quickly as possible, I’m your girl.
When we haven’t been traveling, we’ve been running around town searching for a new apartment in our area as well as others.

(Skyler clearly loves the process as much as we do.)
While I could do without the fourth-story walk-up and drama that comes with our landlord, Scott and I really do adore our current apartment and its views of the city skyline. We have access to laundry, enough space for Skyler, and pay (albeit a lot) a decent amount for the area we live in. That said, finding a new place with the amenities we value and the budget we need has been close to impossible.
So yeah, as much as I’ve been wanting to stop what I’m doing and create posts to share with y’all … there just hasn’t been time. But the good news is that we’re finally settling back into a normal routine of things in a treated, organized apartment with less stuff!
But enough about all of that. If I haven’t lost you yet, I’d love for you to continue reading on for a few things that I’ve been loving lately.
Happy Friday!
• Family Time in Florida
Scott’s travels have been constant which means that his business is taking off (yay!), but it also translates to a lot of solo parenting for yours truly. I’m not complaining, but those who experience parenting and working while your spouse travels gets it — it’s HARD. And for the single parents out there? You are all superheroes and I don’t know how you do it!
Since Scott’s last trip overseas lasted two full weeks, Skyler and I made our first flight by ourselves to Florida to see family and help break up the time. It was a quick four days, but it was so refreshing to get hugs from everyone. It also didn’t hurt to be able to dive into poolside sunshine, too!

Sky wasn’t too sure of the floats, but he loved being in the water! He was happiest when I held onto him and swam next to fountains or parts of the water that splashed so he could play in it. I think it’s officially time to start swim lessons.

The highlight of the trip was getting to see my niece walk the stage for her high school graduation. I can’t believe that she is officially entering college now! She’ll be staying in Orlando to attend the University of Central Florida and it brings back so many memories for me. Congrats, Kayla!

(Also worth noting, I’m drafting up a post on my experience traveling with an infant and now toddler. We’ve traveled quite a bit with Skyler already and have learned a lot of tips on how to make it as smooth as possible. I’m no expert, but I thought it would be fun to share soon. Please let me know if you have any specific questions on the subject in the comments section below.)
• Whole Foods Delivery – Amazon Prime Now
I was super bummed to find out that Whole Foods was no longer an option for grocery delivery through Instacart this month. I still haven’t found a grocery chain or market that I love outside of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s since moving from Florida (oh Publix *sigh*), and I wasn’t really loving the options I saw when browsing my local Instacart homepage.
I don’t know why I didn’t realize this before, but with a quick search of “how do I get Whole Foods deliveries” I was quickly on my way to putting in my grocery order from Amazon Prime Now! It was such an easy process and I started my order and received all of my groceries within two hours.

The best part about this service besides finding all of the sales right away is that it’s free for Prime Members! Paying an additional tip for your grocery shopper/delivery person is an option (which I always do — sorry about all of those stairs, friends), and it’s one hundred percent worth the cost. Being at home with Skyler, without a car, makes it almost impossible to go grocery shopping and carry everything upstairs (including him) by myself.
Bless you, Amazon Prime. I highly recommend Prime Now if you’re also looking to skip the lines and enjoy your Whole Foods grocery shopping from home, too!
• Skyler’s Anywhere Chair
It’s been a long time since I’ve talked about Skyler here, and he is a full-on toddler now! He’s currently almost 15 months old (!!!) and is walking, talking, pointing, laughing, climbing, and getting into everything all day long. He’s a handful, but he’s still the best thing in the world.
With a peaked interest in climbing onto our bed and sofa, I figured it was time to get him his own mini sofa.

I’ve seen these Anywhere Chairs from Pottery Barn Kids in many homes with kids, and I think they’re so adorable! We just got his delivered yesterday (I customized the Gray and White Piping style), and he’s already been all about it while he chills, reads a book, drinks his milk, or just hangs with us in the living room. I picked the middle size versus the “My First” or “Oversized” options and it seems like it will grow with him for a few years. I also think it’s a cute addition to the area that provides Sky his very own space with ours.

(By the way, they’re currently 20% off with free shipping when you use the code: HELLOSUMMER at check out!)
• Goodr running sunglasses
I received a new pair of running sunglasses from my friends Jaime and Alyse at FitApproach and finally got to test them out this week!

What makes them running sunglasses? They claim to be no slip, no bounced, and all polarized which is all necessary for a good pair of sunglasses that you can take on runs with you. It’s finally hot and sunny enough to sport a tank top, shorts, and sunnies on my runs here, so I was excited to see if they held up to the test on a four-mile loop in my favorite park. They were great!
The best part about these beauties is the price point – $25. I think my Iced by Yetis are so cute, and I’m also loving the other styles they offer like the Runways are great, too! I might just purchase a few more pairs. Thanks so much, FitApproach and #ParentRiot!
• finding “joy” in organizing
Even though I only watched half an episode of the popular series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix, I’ve been on a purging and organizing kick since we’ve had to turn our apartment upside down and put it back together.
The biggest takeaway I’ve heard from people who have watched the show is to get rid of anything you own that doesn’t “spark joy” for you. That simple rule helped me separate emotional reasons that I held on to things I really didn’t need anymore like a t-shirt from my college days or outfits I was keeping in my closet “just in case”. I got rid of anything that I hadn’t worn in over a year and a half (and gave myself a bigger window of time than normal after considering my pregnancy and postpartum days). Now I have plenty of room leftover in my closet and only pull from things that I would actually wear. It’s such a good feeling!

(This drawer now fits all of my pajamas, running shirts, and tee-shirts!)
This spiraled into getting rid of random toiletries and junk we kept in closets for no reason at all. I don’t know how we end up acquiring and keeping things we don’t love, but it happens. One thing about living in an apartment in NYC is that you don’t have space for extra stuff. It can be tricky to find a place for everything, but it’s also really nice to living closer to a minimalist lifestyle.
• favorite LIL posts
Here are a few throwbacks I’m looking at with this warmer weather!
Indulge in this colorful fruit pizza without the guilt and with blueberry fruit hummus between fresh fruit and a homemade granola crust.

» Healthy Chocolate Banana Split Ice Pops
Stay on track this summer and try this easy, lightened up popsicle recipe that uses chocolate almond milk, bananas, strawberries, and Greek yogurt!

Thanks so much for clicking over today. I’m looking forward to checking in more now that we’re settling back in.
Have a great weekend!

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