The Wildflowers

The Most Important Parenting Book I Own: “The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice For Modern Parents”

December 1, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

This is not going to be a long post because I would never be able to accurately convey how important this book has been to my mama heart. The book speaks for itself. So in short: if you are a parent or would like to be someday, you need this book. As in, get on Amazon and buy it right now. It’s become my parenting Bible. My teacher and guide. A source of comfort as it has confirmed what my heart and soul naturally felt. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. It’s ancient wisdom retold and interpreted in modern language by William Martin. And boy does he do a stellar job. It’s the only book I would say a parent needs. And it would make a beautiful gift for new mamas and papas.

If you’re not familiar, I’ll quote William Martin here for a fast snapshot. “The Tao Te Ching was written more than twenty-five hundred years ago. It’s authorship is shrouded by legend but is attributed to the legendary Chinese sage, Lae Tzu. It is a book of practical advice for leaders and philosophers, attempting to express glimpses of the inexpressible Tao, or ‘The Way/The Way of Life.’ His work has become the most widely published book in the world next to the Bible.”

This version is Martin’s take of the Tao as he reinterprets it for parents. As he says, “The great themes that permeate the Tao, such as unity; responding without judgement; emulating natural processes; and balancing between doing and being are central to the health of loving parent-child relationships.”

The book is poetic, mystical and profound. I promise it will speak deeply to your mama or papa heart. And I promise you will come out on the other end feeling validated and inspired to be the best parent you can be. For me, it’s not just been something to read once. The book is organized in easy to read, short prose and poems so it’s a book to come back to time and time again. Earmark things that speak to you. Learn from it. Let it guide you. Let it make you a better parent. Open your heart to it and keep it by your bed when you’re having a hard parent day and let it calm and comfort you that tomorrow you can begin anew. And above all, let it deepen your relationship with your children.

My Eight Favorite Easy Dinners That Have Become a Staple in Our House

November 27, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

I suck at making dinner. (Eloquent, I know.) But I do. I don’t mean I’m not a good cook- because, not to hoot my own horn or anything, but I’ve learned a thing or two about cooking over the years and I know my way around a kitchen. I love cooking. I love baking. And I’ve gotten pretty good at it. But I suck at WANTING to make dinner. When you’ve got two kids and a house to take care of, that 5pm dinner making time comes in like a ton of bricks. I’m tired by that point. I’ve already been making meals for my kiddos and myself all day. And cooking dinner is usually not what I feel like doing after the “day” is done. Blake is tired at the end of his work day, too, and we feel the same way about making dinner…sometimes it’s just easier to order in.

When I do cook dinner and I’ve got the house picked up and the kids are playing and we’ve been dancing, man I feel like I’ve.Got.This.Life.Thing.Down.Man. I feel like a superhero. But there are many nights when I haven’t done enough meal planning or grocery shopping prep to have dinners ready four nights a week. We always go out to dinner Friday and Saturday (or during Covid, order out) and sometimes Sunday night too, depending on what’s goin on. On those other four nights I try to make dinner- but if I don’t have my ish together, we end up ordering in food more than we want to.

I’m not the freezer meal queen and I’m not the prep everything on Sunday queen (maybe someday). Right now I don’t want to spend all day Sunday doing that when it’s one of two family days for us. To those mamas and papas that do- I salute you. And I would love for you to share your tips and tricks that help you stay on the dinner course.

But for me, two things have helped me stay on course to make sure our family has healthy meals at night during the week.

Organizing my recipes. I don’t look at cookbooks too often, although I have some beautiful ones. Like I’m sure all of you, I save my recipes on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. While all the inspiration and ideas are sooo helpful, I found myself still overwhelmed with all my saved recipes because they were in so many different places. While I’m definitely a 2020 iPhone chick, I’m still a bit old-school when it comes to printing things out. I like physical copies in front of me. I write my “to-do” list with actual pen and paper every week and get way too much satisfaction from physically crossing off completed things. So printing out all my saved recipes and putting them in a 3-ring binder gave me a starting point. (Also, printers are the worst. They never work. We finally got a laser printer and I want to marry it, it’s so nice…aka, it always works. Highly recommend.) Also, bonus- Charlie likes to go get my recipe book for me and help cook dinner with me. Sometimes I just take the whole binder to the grocery store and sometimes I take photos of the recipes I picked out for the week.
These eight meals. They are easy. They have common ingredients. They are healthy. For the most part they are Crock Pot or Insta Pot recipes, with the exception of a couple. They don’t require a ton of prep- or at least not hard prep. Most of them make enough for leftovers so you can stretch the meals even further. And they are all easy to customize for your diet- gluten-free, low-carb, etc. Even when I am exhausted, I usually still have it in me to make any of these. I add in new recipes throughout the month too. But these eight are good to have in your back pocket and rotate as regulars.

Without further ado, my dinner staples:

Slow Cooker Lemon Pesto Chicken- The Magical Slow Cooker (Note: I double the amount of chicken broth and often times I’ll eat it over spinach rather than pasta and I always roast broccoli to go with it like she suggests.)
Best Instant Pot Chicken & Rice Recipe- Lena Abraham on Delish (Note: She doesn’t say to, but I use the sauté feature for the onions first. I will sometimes add carrots if I have them, but I will add half a bag of mixed frozen peppers from Trader Joe’s and half a bag of frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe’s instead. I almost always end up adding more salt after it’s done.)
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili- Diabetes Strong (Note: It calls for 8oz. of green chilis- I use 4oz and I find it plenty spicy. Especially with kids. I use the frozen Trader Joe’s roasted corn and I think it adds a lot more flavor. I have always used a rotisserie chicken that I shred, makes it so much easier and quicker.)
Insta Pot Chicken Tacos- Friends told us this one years ago and we’ve been using it regularly ever since. It’s the easiest oh crap I don’t have dinner planned dinner ever. Two frozen or thawed chicken breasts, one jar of salsa (we use 3/4 of a tub of Jack’s mild salsa and leave some leftover for on top of tacos), one packet of taco seasoning. Add all to Insta Pot and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes if thawed and 45 minutes if frozen. Shred when done and serve as tacos with toppings of choice.
Easy Slow Cooker Lemon Chicken- Green Healthy Cooking
Slow Cooker (or stovetop) Cincinnati Chili- This one also came from friends over 15 years ago and I wouldn’t think of making any other kind of red chili. The cinnamon and allspice are the secret. Note: I add 1/2 can more of tomato sauce and I use turkey instead of ground beef. The original recipe doesn’t add beans in the chili, but I have for years and prefer it that way. I have definitely made it in the Crock Pot but I have also made it on the stove just a couple hours before dinner and it still comes out delicious. Serve it by itself, with spaghetti, onions, shredded cheese or Fritos.)

Herbs de Provence Whole Chicken with Carrots and Potatoes- This one comes from Blake’s mom. It slow roasts in the oven rather than a slow cooker, but it’s so easy to put together. And it always comes out looking GORGEOUS. If you want to impress people, cook this for dinner. You’ll look like you were cooking all day (but you weren’t). Stuff one whole chicken with half of a small onion, half of a lemon and several cloves of garlic (after you take out the insides). Cut up one package of baby potatoes and add to bottom of Dutch oven. Cover with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add chicken to Dutch oven over potatoes. Add 1/2 package of baby carrots around chicken. Cover carrots and chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover chicken generously with herbs de Provence. Add 4-5 pats of butter to top of chicken. Roast in oven, covered, at 250 for 4 hours. Roast, uncovered, at 350 for one more hour. Serve in bowl and spoon roasting liquid over chicken, potatoes and carrots.
“Everything” Chicken- Gimme Some Oven (Note: “Everything” as in “Everything Bagel” seasoning, aka the best seasoning ever. Get it at Trader Joe’s, most grocery stores and even Amazon. This dinner is truly a pantry last minute easy dinner. And it’s so yummy. She lists to brine the chicken- I never have. I just coat with salt and pepper. Serve with Brussels, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. Goes with everything! It’s good, too, as leftovers over a spinach salad.)

So there ya go! My dinner staples. I would love to hear your favorites below!

Travel Guide- Cherokee, North Carolina

November 24, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

Cherokee, North Carolina- one of my favorite places on the planet. When I say Cherokee- I mean Cherokee and the surrounding areas. I live in Nashville so this area is within our Southeast region and only a few hours away, making it the perfect getaway for long weekends and adventures. Blake and I went camping here for our one year anniversary with our only baby back then, our pup Monkey. It was October, and it was freezing, but it was the best little trip. We camped by the side of a creek way up in the mountains and we were one of the only few at the campground because it was October. So it was quiet and private and lovely.

I grew up tent camping with my dad during summers out west visiting family in Colorado. It was during these trips that the satisfaction of setting up a tent, the smell of a campfire, the making of meals over fires, the exploring, the campground general stores, the wildness of it all became permanently ingrained in my heart and soul. And what’s more perfect than the coziness of a tent and fire for an anniversary trip? I mentioned it was cold- like 28 degrees at night cold. But that only added to the adventure! We bundled and snuggled up under several blankets and fell asleep to the dying embers of the fire. We played scrabble at the picnic table while Monkey played in the creek. We warmed coffee and hot chocolate over the fire. We drank boxed wine. We roasted hotdogs and s’mores at night. We hiked to waterfalls. And we shopped at the little stores filled with local crafts and I still have all the little treasures we got sprinkled about our house. My absolutely heaven. It was a quick trip, two nights. By the third day we were so cold that we stopped in the Pizza Hut just outside of town to have a hot dinner- but Pizza Huts and camping go hand in hand to me so it made total sense. For some reason, there is always a Pizza Hut when I go camping and I have the fondest memories of going there for dinner with my family. Personal pans and Pepsi, baby.

SO. Camping in Cherokee, North Carolina. If you want a more private, remote experience, try Indian Creek Campground. It’s beautiful, wooded and by a creek. The store had everything we needed (although we came prepared) for s’mores and hot chocolate. They had drip coffee if you don’t bring your own. The lots were spacious and came with a picnic table. Because you’re by the creek and in the mountains, the sites are more of a rocky area with little pebbles than a grassy site. I remember the bathrooms being clean and perfectly fine as far as campground bathrooms go.

We did pass the KOA (which I grew up staying at) on the way up and down to our campground and it looked awesome as well. It’s more at the bottom of the mountain so it’s a little more spacious and sunny. You’re by the river and the overall feeling was a bit more spacious. All KOAs are awesome- so if you don’t mind it being a little less remote and private, I’ll always recommend KOAs. We didn’t stay there, but we stopped in and hung out by the river for a while- beautiful, beautiful area. If we went tent camping with kids, we would stay here.

Fast forward a few years and we returned to this area now with two littles- a 3 year old and a 1 year old. We also went back during 2020 (global pandemic) and I have to say, this whole area was the perfect little vacation to social distance safely. My dad, stepmom and brother (who are all avid travelers) were feeling restless at home and wanted to go SOMEWHERE/ANYWHERE to get away for a few days. They are used to driving to Nashville to visit so this was only a few added hours for them. From Chicago, about an 11 hour drive. They stopped in Kentucky for the night and went on from there.

From Nashville, it’s just slightly over a 4 hour drive. First impressions: it is GORGEOUS. From Nashville, the quickest route is to go to Knoxville and cut over through the Smokies- the drive itself is so so pretty. The Cherokee area itself has many little surrounding towns and I had SO MUCH FUN exploring them- it’s one of my favorite things to do in life.

We stayed in a house at the top of a mountain in Whittier called Eagle’s Nest Lodge. The views from this house were worth the whole trip. And to see the fog roll in and out of the mountain tops was quite the experience. Curl up with your coffee and a book and you’re in heaven. This particular house had a whole wall worth of windows and decks surrounding the house to take advantage of this view. And of course it had all the things a good Airbnb house should have in the mountains- a grill, hot tub, board games and fireplaces. If you have a larger party- check this house out. It comes with two attached personal apartments so everyone can have their own space. Whittier (and this house) were about a 20 minute drive to Cherokee.

At the bottom of the mountain where we stayed (if you click on the house link and check out the map) there was a huge farm stand with aaallll sorts of local produce and jams and candies and juices. Charlie had so much fun picking out all our fruit.

Whittier is sort of in the middle of the Cherokee area/region so you will find yourself driving to Cherokee or the Sylva and Dillsboro area (about a 10 minute drive). Cherokee is where you will go for the shops filled with beautiful handmade jewelry and pottery by the Cherokee who live there. Sylva and Dillsboro are where you will go for restaurants, breweries and boutique shopping. And the entire area itself is full of hikes, horseback riding, rafting and outdoor adventures.

This trip with our kiddos was truly a joy- not only for time spent with my family, but to be able to see Charlie come ALIVE and be able to run free and soak up the outdoors and experience what I love about the mountains was seriously the best. The Cherokee area is one of my soul places. I connect deeply with it. I have always been incredibly interested in and have felt connected to the Native American culture. And there’s something very, very special about this region of the Smokies. It’s incredibly beautiful. It’s mysterious and almost haunting. There’s a wildness about it that you can sense. And there are stories and a history that run through the trees. You best believe I have a Redfin full of saved houses to buy and an Etsy list called “Mountain House” filled with antique finds for our someday house there; )

We went in September and the weather was perfect. Sweatshirt weather during the day and a light jacket at night. Never cold. This is a great site for everything you could ever do in this area, but here are a few of my favorites that we did in Cherokee and the close-by Dillsboro/Sylva towns (that I just adored).

In Cherokee:

Horseback Riding- End of the Trail Riding Stables. There are several companies, but this was the one we went to and I HIGHLY recommend them. Native American owned and operated ON the Cherokee Indian Reservation. We had a private ride with Goodlow’s wife because the other party didn’t show up. They were kind and knowledgeable and the hour long ride was GORGEOUS. Charlie rode with me and had the time of her life on a horse named Jesse James, who she still talks about all the time. You go to the top of a mountain and back down. Quite the adventure.
Mingo Falls- A perfect hike with family. A quick drive up the mountain (you pass the KOA and Indian Creek campgrounds) and you’re there. It’s only about a 10 minute hike so with kids, it’s completely doable. It’s a wooded hike that leads up to the most spectacular waterfall. The first part has stairs and the second part has a trail. Charlie did it by herself holding Blake’s hand and was SO proud. I did it carrying Tessa in an Ergo carrier totally fine. It’s a must see of this area.
Oconaluftee Indian Village– “Walk through the village – a faithful reproduction of Cherokee life in the 1750s. Guides in native dress lead you to demonstrations of arrowhead making, blowguns, bead working, finger weaving, mask carving, pottery and canoe hulling. You will visit a Council House and learn about the medicinal importance of herbs, plants, bark and reeds. The Village is open from April 15 – November 12, 2016.” – We loved this experience and learned so much!
Shopping- go to the main street of Cherokee and you can’t miss all of the local shops. They may seem touristy at first, but they are filled with the most beautiful handmade goods from Cherokee of the area.

In Dillsboro: A quaint, small town just slightly southeast of Cherokee. Easy to get to off the main highway that connects this whole area. Perfect for stopping in on an afternoon to go to the little shops- antiques and local art. Most of them close at 5. This town has a very local feel- we might have been the only visitors.

Foragers Canteen– yummy restaurant for lunch or dinner. Fresh + healthy. I had the beet salad- very yummy. Kid friendly and lots of outdoor seating by the river.
Dillsboro Chocolate Factory- I mean, self-explanatory. It’s chocolate. They had fudge, candy, ice cream, a whole selection of chocolate covered espresso beans that Blake took home, a coffee bar, the works.
Nancy Tut’s Christmas Shop- Also self-explanatory. A whole shop of Christmas year round? Happiness incarnate. Every single ornament you never knew could even exist. But I will warn you, the owner of 25 years said she and her husband were looking to sell it to retire and travel- so I’m not sure what the future will look like for it.
Innovation Station- brewery with really good beer and a lot of outdoor seating. There was a vegan food truck parked outside while we were there that looked really good. String lights and tables outside line the river. Blake and I enjoyed a flight of 4 or 5 beers and they were all good.

In Sylva: Bigger than Dillsboro but just down the way. This is where you will go to the Food Lion for your groceries. But the downtown is 100% worth visiting. Two really, really good coffee shops and shopping. Local restaurants (that we didn’t get to go to, but saw and wanted to try) like Pie Times Pizza Company, The Table, Balsam Falls Brewing and Lulu’s on Main.

The Farmhouse Mercantile and Coffee Bar– really, really cool space where all the furniture is locally made and for sale. My London Fog was lovely and Blake’s espresso was spot on. It connects to a boutique of gifts and homeware with a few antiques (picked up the sweetest antique bottles) where the owner sits chatting to local friends.
White Moon– I looooooved this place. One of me and Blake’s favorite things to do in life is discover the local coffee shops of a town and this one was my favorite. Small, cute. Artsy. The coffee was goooood and the food even better. And they turn into a wine bar at night- enough said. This will be a staple of mine every time we come back.

The Beauty of Bedtime- How Tucking in Your Toddler Can be Precious Bonding Time

November 18, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

I am a stay at home mom. I spend a lot of time with my children, my two little girls- currently 3.5 and 1. We get to do many fun things with each other through out the week- park dates, lunch dates, library story time, play dates, playing games, snuggling up during a movie. But I have found something profoundly beautiful about the specific time spent tucking each of my girls in at night.

Blake and I have gotten insanely lucky in the children and sleep department. Charlie and Tessa have both slept through the night since three months and both in their crib sleeping through the night from six months. And to make us feel even more like we hit the jackpot, Charlie put herself to bed most nights from about six months to I’d say around 2.5 years. Our bedtime routine with her for those couple of years looked like jammies, teeth brushing and reading a few stories together as a family (me, Blake and her) in a big rocking chair we had in their nurseries. The routine would change slightly in different phases- sometimes she would want a song and sometimes she would want a snuggle with each of us separately before laying down. But once we laid her down in her crib? She just went to bed. As an infant, we would put her in her crib awake and she would fall asleep on her own. She didn’t require rocking to sleep or sleeping in our bed and then transferring her- it was always just a pleasant, mostly easy thing. And now Tessa is the exact same way. And they both sleep twelve hours through the night.

I tell you this not to brag (I know this is not the case for many, many families) but just to give you a snapshot of our little family. Tessa is now about 14 months and the routine is very much still that- jammies, stories, lay down, night night. But since Charlie has been about 2.5 there has been a much more involved routine and much more time spent tucking her in. Of course we still do jammies, teeth brushing, stories and all that. But Blake and I both really lean into this time as special, almost stolen moments with our child. It has been clear that in the past year she has needed this time with us. She wouldn’t let us go like she used to. She needed more snuggles. She needed more story telling. She needed more talking about the day. And we let her dictate how this went- right or wrong. But she would say she wanted me to lay with her first. And then Daddy would come in.

Trust me- I get it, bedtime can sometimes feel like a sweet gift at the end of the day. Finally, quiet and rest time has arrived. Finally, you can catch your breath. I’m tired at the end of the day. I’m looking forward to getting in to MY bed and reading or looking at my phone or watching a show with Blake. Any parent understands this. But rather than rush tucking Charlie in or just going through the motions for the sake of getting to that final stage of the day, I try to relish this time. I soak it up. I even drag it out sometimes. From Charlie’s point of view, it’s one-on-one time with each parent completely distraction free- we never, ever have our phones during this time and we’re cuddled up in her bunk with just her- no dishes to do, no little sister to tend to. Just me and her, in a present moment.

Sometimes we talk about the day or talk about what we have to look forward to tomorrow. Sometimes we play the drums on each other’s backs. Sometimes it’s truly silly time where we tickle and giggle and then I “shake the sillies out” of her arms and legs one by one. Sometimes we read an extra story. Sometimes we do shadow puppets on the wall. Sometimes we just lay and cuddle. And Blake and her have their own special time- Daddy does “Once a ponce a time” as Charlie calls it. He tells all sorts of elaborate stories and dives into little worlds that only they share.

In the 3.5 age we’re in now, sometimes this routine isn’t enough. She’ll crawl out of bed and insist she has to go potty for the third time or that there’s a sea monster in her room. Luckily, a couple of extra minutes of snuggles usually does the trick.

But there have been so many moments during this bedtime routine that I have caught myself thinking, “This is it. This is life. This is where the magic is.” Sometimes it has even made me tear up, unbeknown to my sweet girl. In this fast world, bedtime is our time where life stands still. The present reigns. We’re not worried about our to do list. We say yes to everything. Yes to more stories, yes to more snuggles. Yes to this precious time. I know for a fact that my relationship with Charlie has grown in these moments. I can feel it happening. It’s when she lays down and says, “I love you, Mommy” because she can feel it too. She appreciates this time we savor at the end of the day.

As Tessy grows, I look forward to this time with her too. In fact, I can’t wait. Not that I want her to grown up ANY faster, but it’s so fun to think about all the special little bedtime games and moments we’ll have together that are just ours. Just our little world together. And I know that someday when my girls don’t need this time anymore, I will be incredibly grateful for all that precious time. And I will always remember those giggles and those snuggles and those beautiful bedtime moments.

A DIY Baby Gnome Halloween Costume

November 17, 2020 by Rebecca Leave a Comment

If you read my previous post about this sweet girl’s first birthday, you would know that we started calling her a little pixie gnome because of the way her hair was growing out. So it was only natural that she was a little gnome for Halloween. And because I am usually not super impressed by store Halloween costumes, I made my own. I love putting together Halloween costumes so so much and this one was fun. This one was not a wait until the last minute DIY. Because I’m crazy, I started putting together her and Charlie’s costumes in the beginning of September and really, I needed a big chunk of that time to get all the pieces in so I’m glad I didn’t wait.

I found the felt shoes and hat on Etsy- separate sellers, but both from Europe, so the shipping is what took the longest. And the hat was made to order to fit her size. Not gonna lie, neither of these were exactly cheap. But they were worth the joy they brought and I’m going to use the shoes again for our Christmas photos.

The little green top I found on eBay for like $8. I believe I searched for “vintage baby pinafore.” Check Etsy, Poshmark and Kidizen too. The blue tights were from Amazon and the sweater is handmade by my aunt in Switzerland who makes and sends the girls a new sweater each year for their birthdays (they’re amazing), but any sweater will do.

Paint a couple of rosy cheeks on your babe with some Halloween paint crayons and a cute gnome you will have.

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