Random Loves: Mocktails, Milkshakes, Florals & The Jungle Book

The weather has been so gorgeous lately here in Sacramento, I’ve been loving lots of spring time things like milkshakes, mocktails, florals and (of course!) pillows.

Raegan has also been loving our afternoon and evening walks outside where she points out every leaf, car, doggie, flower she sees. Her little language is so cute these days, I just love listening to her babble and talk. 

Here are a few other things I’ve been loving lately:

Mocktails — I love being pregnant, but one thing I have been missing lately is a nice cold margarita/sangria/beer (any cold cocktail really!) on the patio. The next best thing is a pretty mocktail in a fun glass with a straw :) I’ve been loving Trader Joe’s Sparkling French Berry Lemonade and their Villa Italia Italian Blood Orange Soda. Both are fruity, sweet and so good on ice. 

Florals — I picked up these really pretty floral placemats (left) at Home Goods last week and I love them. They make me excited to set the table for dinner every night! Alex is not a fan of florals so I have to think of small (and temporary) ways to add them into our house and Alex approved of these ;) I also picked up this gorgeous cloth napkin (right) from Cost Plus World Market with plans to turn it into a pillow. 

Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Milkshake — Raegan and I have been making these almost daily they are so good and the perfect blend of sweetness, chocolate, peanut butter and banana. Plus it's healthy! When I’m lucky, Raegan will share a few sips with me before she scarfs it all down herself ;)

Ingredients: one frozen banana (sliced before frozen), about 1/2 cup milk, a large spoonful of peanut butter, 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, a splash of vanilla, a pinch of kosher salt, 3-4 ice cubes. Blend together in a blender until smooth and enjoy! 
This makes one but can easily be doubled for two. (Recipe adapted from The Detoxinista)

Animal board books — I've mentioned before how much Raegan (and I!) both love kids books and animals so I ordered two animal-themed board books off Amazon recently and they have quickly become favorites. The Jungle Book is another Baby Lit book (we also love the Alice in Wonderland Baby Lit board book too) but teaches animals, some you won't typically find in kiddo books like a porcupine, wolf and jaguar. Plus the art is so cute — I especially love the bear page with a bear lounging on his back in the water, holding a bear-shaped honey sipping it with a straw! 

Raegan has also been really loving Giraffes Can't Dance, a really cute story about a giraffe who thinks he can't dance, but find he really just needs the right song. The art is really cute in this one too and it's a great one to help kids learn different animals. 

(Any animal board books you love? We're always looking for more!)

Black Dot Ikat Pillow — Since Lindsey & I launched our pillow business (!), I have been "testing" out our pillows all throughout the house and can honestly say I love them all! I am so happy with how they turned out and may have to keep some for myself! ;) One of my favorites is the Black Dot Ikat. Black and white is so classic but these ikat dots make it really fun too. You can check out more of our pillows at our Storenvy store here! 

Favorite Board Books

Both Raegan and Jena love books (I'm sure Jayden will too in a few months!) and Lindsey & I especially like board books since it's pretty impossible for them to tear the pages out. They're the perfect size to stuff in your diaper bag for an emergency distraction, and most are just the right length to (most of the time) keep our girls' tiny attention spans until the end.

Raegan's board book collection keeps growing & growing, but she still has her go-to favorites that she always pulls out of the bookshelf and brings to us. 

Here are a few of our favorites:

 

Haiku Baby is one I bought on a whim off Amazon and Raegan loves it. There's a tiny bird on each page that she points out and I love that it gives her an intro to seasons and weather. 

Alice in Wonderland is a BabyLit book that we love! It tells the story mostly through it's pretty illustrations and one word at a time. It's fun because then you can tell the story in your own words. The Cinderella board book is the same concept, with few words telling the classic fairy tale. 

The Sesame Street Beginnings books where a gift from my aunt and immediately Raegan loved them. Plus they're educational and I think really helped Raegan learn some of her body parts, like nose and fingers super fast.

You Are My Cupcake was one of the first books I bought Raegan. It's a sweet book with cute little nicknames for your little one. This is always Jena's go-to book when she's at our house. She likes to pretend to pick off the sprinkles and put them in her mouth! Now she happily has her own copy at home! :)

Both Lindsey & I have some of the Sandra Boynton board books. They're funny and teach the kiddos something. Win win. 

Goodnight Moon is a classic that I'm sure many of you have. It has also become a favorite of Raegan's, she hands it to me and says "nigh" (night). So cute! She's also obsessed with kitties so she points out the kitties every time. 

My First Colors is one of Jena's favorites and it's a super helpful book to help kiddos learn colors. Each page shows small photos of items, all the same color. 

Wynken Blynken And Nod is one neither Lindsey or I had heard of, but one of Lindsey's friends said it was a favorite. And now it's also one of Jena's favorites!

What are some of your favorite board books?
We also shared some of our favorite children's books growing up. You can check them out here. 

Our Favorite Children's Books Growing Up

Lindsey & I wanted to share some of our favorite children's books from our childhood. We have some really fun memories of our mom reading some of these books to us in a silly voice and bringing these books to life for us. They are now some of our favorite memories!

Some of these books have already become our kiddos' favorites, like The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See, and we hope the rest become favorites of theirs once they're a little older!

Here are a few of our favorites:

The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear // Possum Magic // The Napping House // If You Give a Mouse a Cookie // The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? // Walt Disney's Story Land: 55 Favorite Stories // Possum Come A-Knockin' // Imogene's Antlers // If You Give a Moose a Muffin 
 
I think Lindsey & I both agree that one of our all-time favorite stories growing up was "De Tar Baby" from the Walt Disney's Story Land book. It's not exactly the most politically correct story and I learned they changed the version years back. I learned this after I bought Lindsey a copy, went to read the story and it was nothing like I had remembered! If you've been on Splash Mountain at Disneyland, then you might be a little familiar with the story of Brer Fox, Brer Bear and Tar-Baby. We got such a kick out of hearing my mom read this book over & over again, it is one of our favorite memories! 

I also have vivid memories of my mom reading Possum Come a-Knockin', a silly story of a possum ding-dong ditching a family. Another possum book, Possum Magic, also made it to our list, so clearly we had a little obsession with possums! :)

Most of these books now have torn pages and scribbles — signs of well-loved books! ;) 

What are some of your favorite books when you were a kid? Both of us are always adding to our kiddo book collection, so we'd love to hear them!!

Next week we'll share some of current favorite children's books too!