emerald city diaries

Welcome back Friday & happy almost fall!

{one} Cat & Jack for Target.

{via Target}

Target has a new kids’ clothing collaboration which am slightly obsessed with: Cat & Jack. I am slightly picky about the clothes I buy for Eloise, mostly because I want her to wear normal clothes, like adults wear. So much of this line fits the bill (at least for me) and is really whimsical which I also appreciate. You can see Eloise sporting some of the line here from her first day of school.

{two} Purely Elizabeth Granola.

{via Purely Elizabeth}

Most of the summer I noshed on Ellenos greek yogurt for breakfast, but wanted a little more heft to it since I was feeling hungry just a short while later. Since Eloise basically wants to eat anything & everything that I am eating, I set out to find something that I would feel totally comfortable with her eating too. I was super surprised to find this great line of granola (& apparently a ton of other products) at Target – though you can get it lots of places – that is organic, non-GMO, made with ancient grains, and free of refined sugar. Granola, usually, is a food that seems to be healthy but in actuality it most isn’t, though that doesn’t stop me from eating it! But this granola is so, so good, & it is healthy! I like that it isn’t overly sweet & it also isn’t super crunchy. We are all obsessed!

{three} Weekday Meals.

{via Food Fanatic blog}

{via Café Delites blog}

Weekday meals can be so tough since the very last thing that any of us want to do at the end of our work day is cook. But, we really prioritize a family meal every night with Eloise (except on the rare occasion Aaron as to work late) & eat a home-cooked meal at least six nights a week. I meal plan on Monday afternoon & grocery shop on Tuesday which helps keep things organized for the week, but I am always on the hunt for simple, quick, and delicious meals (aren’t we all?). Pinterest has been super awesome to us this week & I found two new meal winners: Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad and Bruschetta Chicken Pasta Salad (linked above). Even Eloise gobbled up both of these meals! What are your favorite recipes to make?

And be sure to check out what Kendra’s loving this week!

What are you loving this week?

M

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{On Friday, Aaron was cooking pizza for dinner so Eloise wanted to make pizza in her kitchen too!}

{We stayed up and watched about half of a Jim Gaffigan show – he is the best!}

{Aaron needed to run an errand at the Microsoft Store, so E and I joined along & she played with some of the computers which she calls “working.”}

{We finally hung some frames in our entryway which has been on the list forever. These are city prints from the Rifle Paper Co calendar. Now we have a bucket list of destinations: Venice, London, Paris, Tokyo, and Cairo. I am two for five and Aaron is one for five.}

{Crazy that I boxed up all of E’s cloth diapers this weekend. I will do an update on potty training in the coming weeks, but this girl is (basically) potty trained! Wahoo!}

{Eloise was obsessed with the Xbox controller and this little headset this weekend. She never sees the Xbox on, except for one Daniel Tiger during the week, but knows the controller works the Xbox. She kept yelling “Colin! Colin!” (or was it “Callin’! “Callin’!”) whenever she had the headset on. It was hilarious!}

{Our little artist had a watercolor session for her birthday thank you notes. The final products are below.}

{Aaron has a few big projects – which we will be sure to share! – and worked really hard to get wood cut & ready this weekend.}

{A mornings selfie by Eloise.}

{It was cooler today so this adorable knit sweater that my sister-in-law made for E for her birthday was perfect! And that is the face that Eloise makes when you want her to pose for a picture, but she really just wants to look at your phone. “Cheese Mama!”}

{I cropped the pages that Eloise watercolored to make postcards and then wrote her thank you notes on the back.}

{In an effort to avoid maternity clothes for as long as possible – I especially loathe maternity denim – I DIY’d my own maternity jeans from a pair of Madewell jeans I picked up on super sale a few weeks ago. I won’t really know if they work until my bump gets bigger, but for now I don’t have to worry about spending $180 on Madewell maternity jeans that I will wear for 6 months…}

If Labor Day weekend is the official end of summer & kick-off of fall, it was certainly true in Seattle! The weather has changed (at least for the moment) to cooler, crisper, and rainier which I have been embracing with open arms!

We got quite a bit done around the house this weekend – projects that have been needing some attention – that we have been hoping to get done before fall really hits.

And we are ending the long weekend with Aaron running out to the store (at almost 11 PM) to get new batteries for our smoke detectors. One started chirping this morning, but apparently the chirping will continue until all of the batteries work? They are hard-wired too so it is a bit frustrating. Fingers crossed we can get the chirping to stop!

How was your weekend?

M

{Lots of books while on the potty. Go Eloise go!}

{And it was so wonderful to have Papa around this weekend after being house-bound for most of the week!}

We are less than a week into potty training, so there wasn’t a lot happening at the house this weekend, except for potty training. But, so far, so good!

Also, we had a break in the weather & had the most amazing cool, rainy, & cloudy weather. I know it sounds awful since I complain about not having sun most of the rest of the year, but I am SO ready for fall & it felt like it the past two days!

How was your weekend?

M

{Eloise went to daycare on Friday so I had the entire day to myself! I made the trek down to IKEA for a few things.}

{On Saturday morning we hit up Greenlake since it was a scorcher – over 90 degrees! – & it was so hot! Can you tell by Eloise’s face?}

{But we cooled off in the wading pool at Greenlake & then had a picnic lunch in the shade.}

{These wooden stools from IKEA are so great. We keep them in the bathrooms for Eloise to wash her hands. I put one together during naptime with the drill – it went so quickly!}

{After some work in the yard this morning, Eloise wanted to take her tricycle out for a quick ride before lunch. Every time she sees herself in her helmet she shouts “MOO! MOO!” It’s the best!}

{I have been really good at getting to my Sunday afternoon Pure Barre class. A much-needed hour to myself to start the week off right.}

{Aaron had Eloise dressed in her striped dress when I got home from Barre, so of course Eloise wanted us to match. I love this girl.}

{David, Jodi, & their kids got back into town for the next few days & we finally got a picture of all the kids together! They are a fun bunch.}

We had a fun weekend & are gearing up for the last full week of August – what? How was your weekend?

M