If you saw the first edition of this, you know it was born out of the idea that I miss sharing random and simple things on Instagram stories. Many of these things make it into my Friday newsletters, but some aren’t worthy of a blog post (I’m lookin’ at you, vegan nutella) but they’re worth sharing, you know? Enjoy the second round of Life Lately!

Last month, one of my best friends on the planet came to visit and we did nothing but talk non-stop and laugh and it was heavenly and you know how often I remind you to get with a friend in person, in real life, even if it’s for two days. Two days is better than no days and you’ll be so glad you did …also, as you can see, zero progress has been made to the exterior of our house and the estimated finish date is somehow still next summer. Crossing every finger and every toe that it remains true!

A couple weeks ago, my sister told O and I she was giving us no choice but the leave our kids with her and go see Top Gun right then and there. I’ve said before that we don’t have childcare and we rarely go out on actual dates but going to a movie in the early evening was absolute magic. I left that theatre thinking, “I didn’t know I needed this.”

Last weekend, Keogena had her End of Year Revue for Hip Hop and Ballet. I am unwell. Look at how grown my five year old looks, you guys! It was so fun to follow specific instructions for hair and makeup but we were both ready to scrub it all off the moment we got home. My family came to cheer her on and celebrate since Oshiomogho and Oshiolema were in Canton for Hall of Fame things with my dad and this girl felt so celebrated and loved and proud. There is nothing quite like watching a sea of girls in tutus and knowing “she’ll never be this little again.” The tears just don’t stop flowing during ballet-maybe that’s just me and my sisters. I’m so proud of my Nana girl and her hard work. The shirt I’m wearing in this photo is my under $30 workhorse right here. This is one of my best 2022 purchases so far. And the pants in the photo are the kind I hesitate to share because they’re such an investment and I saved for this investment purchase, but they are my favorite pants ever of all time. I also own and love this pair (another favorite pant I shout from the rooftops) and this pair as a less expensive alternative.

This is something I just need you all to know about. Doing my due-diligence here. If you, like me, have missed out on Nutella for the past decade due to food aversions or allergies…OUR TIME HAS COME! This spread is heaven in a jar and it’s fully paleo friendly. I spread it on waffles for the kids with coconut whipped cream and thought of just how far we’ve come in the past few years. Grab some here.

I got this water table because 14,000 5 star reviews on Amazon told me to and I’m happy to report it’s a WIN. This thing has been the hero of summer, friends. My kids and their cousins have been known to spend an hour at a time just playing with bowls and bubbles and this bad boy. Set up a muffin tin filled with snacks and fruit and you’ve just bought yourself an afternoon to read or workout or whatever your heart desires. Z’s rash guard swimsuit is my favorite because I’m obsessed with sun protection and we live in a place where summer means 100+ degree days back to back. Grab the big girl version right here and our favorite hooded cover up here.

We’ve all been breaking in our cowboy boots for Family Camp so if you’ve seen us in the past week, you’ve seen these red boots from a mile away.

Egg in a Hole has become my favorite summer breakfast to make for the kids. (That and this paleo egg casserole that is the stuff of dreams.) This doesn’t need a recipe since it’s super self explanatory, but if you’re like me and “just want to be sure,” here it is!

Zeameh turned two last month and it just needed to be documented. We love this girl to bits.

Lastly for this edition of life lately, if you have the itch to switch to non-toxic nail polish, my hands down favorite for the past five years has been Zoya. You can find tons of shades right here. This is the sweater you all know I wear year round and these are the jeans pictured.