It's Simply Lindsay

02/15/16

Ways Moms are Mean Girls (and Why This Needs to Change)

Mother. The very word evokes feelings of love, care, comfort, and warmth. We often refer to a mother’s love being so incredible that it’s truly indescribable. Mothers carry their babies within them for 40 weeks, creating an unspeakable bond that only she and her baby can understand.The moment her baby is laid on her chest, mommy and baby just know each other. They know they love each other without having ever properly met before. Moms show the magic and power of love at first site. In fact, I didn’t believe in love at first site until I had my daughter.

On the other hand, there’s the term momma bear. This term evokes feelings of ferocity, aggression, and strength. Momma bears, because of their fierce love and devotion to their babies, can shed their nurturing sweet mommy masks and transform into a wild animal at a moment’s notice – anything to protect her family.

Somewhere in the middle of these two sides of mommies comes a not so common term – well, the term is common, but not when describing mothers: mean girls. If you’ve never thought of moms as mean girls, I’ll explain, from my experience, ways that they are and why this needs to change.

02/14/16

Wedding Planning Traditions to Reconsider

Congratulations, you’re engaged! Or you’re thinking about getting engaged, or you are so far removed from marriage but enjoy reading wedding articles. No matter what has brought you here today, welcome. When you’re planning your wedding, there are so many big decisions and small details to consider, but what I think is most important – more important the flowers, cake, and music – is that you DO NOT stress. That you enjoy your engagement, and with that, comes wedding planning. I know you’ve heard horror stories from your friends, and chick flicks and Bridezillas may tell you otherwise, but truly, wedding planning does not have to be stressful.

As you throw yourself into Pinterest, wedding magazines, and advice from family and friends, here are some additional things to consider when planning your special day. I’ll share some things that worked for me, and if you are already married, I would love you to share some of your own tips when it comes to considering alternatives to wedding traditions.

02/13/16

Lemon Whipped Cream Cake

Every year on my husband’s birthday, we have a great tradition. Well, I have a great tradition, I’m not sure how he feels about it. Every year, I ask him what kind of birthday cake he wants (even though I already know), and every year when he requests lemon cake, I tease him. Even though I absolutely adore the refreshing citrus flavors, it’s not birthday cake – who’s with me on this?

I set out to make a new recipe this year, and after mixing and matching a few of my favorite recipes, I came up with this delicious Lemon Whipped Cream Cake. The cake has a pound cake type of feel to it, though it’s not as dense, and the lightness of the whipped cream frosting pairs wonderfully with it. Don’t forget to have a cold glass of milk ready immediately after eating.

While I still assert this is not a birthday cake, I did very much enjoy it, and think it would be great for showers, brunch, afternoon tea, or just because. I mean really, do we need a reason for cake?

02/12/16

February Fashion

I am loving February’s fashion themes so far! Filled with pink, red, blush, and hearts, I’m feeling very girly this month, and I’m not complaining about it. In case you’re new here and not familiar, I participate in daily themed fashion challenges on Instagram, and they’re so much fun.

They provide purpose to choosing clothes and push you to try new styling and to use the clothes you already own but maybe never wear. I’d love to you to join in whenever you feel like it – just connect with me on Instagram or Facebook where I post the monthly calendar. If you don’t have something to match the theme exactly, it doesn’t matter – half of the fun is stretching the themes and seeing what you and others come up with.

You can check out the last few months of fashion challenges: January, December, November, October.

 

02/7/16

What It’s Like Being an Instagram Husband

Thank you to my husband, Justin, for writing this guest post.

We were driving home from a holiday brunch when my wife shouted out something along the lines of “oh my God that’s perfect!”

Did we discover a hidden amount of money that was going to make our lives so much easier?  No.  Did I come up with a brilliant solution to one of life’s great mysteries?  Not even close.  Did I just unveil a secret gift that I had been waiting for the perfect moment to give her and this was that moment!?!?  I wish.  No, what we discovered was something pretty unremarkable (although my wife might tell you differently).  What we happened across on that day was simply a plain white brick wall.

That’s right.

Just a plain.

White.

Brick.

Wall.

02/5/16

The Importance of Accepting Compliments

“I love your outfit! You look so pretty.”

“Oh this is from the clearance rack at TJ Maxx- I had nothing else to throw on.”

“You look really great- I love your hair and makeup.”

“Ugh, I can never get my hair to cooperate and my skin is so broken out…but thanks.”

Do these conversations sound familiar? As girls, we were somehow programmed to reject compliments while simultaneously finding ways to point out our flaws in a matter of seconds. Though we may actually feel flattered, we always somehow manage to try to convince the complimenter of their error. If you think about it, this really makes no sense. Why did you spend an hour watching makeup tutorials about covering up your problem area skin, buy new makeup, and then carefully apply it? Because you wanted to hide your blemishes, of course. Then why, after all of your time and preparation, do you negate your successful execution by pointing out that actually you do not have good skin after all, going back and forth until you’ve tried your best to convince the complimenter that she’s wrong.