Being Bridget

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t buy {or register for} a lot of toys before Henning was born. I didn’t have the slightest clue what kids actually played with and at what age vs. what was just a gimmick and not really needed. All I knew was that I definitely didn’t want a bunch of toys laying around that we wouldn’t using. So I waited. I wanted to see what Henning’s personality would be like and then just purchase accordingly. I’ve gotta say, I feel really good so far with the amount of toys that we have because we play with everything.

When Easter was approaching, and the quarantine in full effect, I knew I wanted to splurge and get a few new toys for Henning that would help occupy all our hours at home. As I often do when I need an outfit for a certain event, or a new pair of shoes, I went straight to one of my most trusted online retailers – Nordstrom. I have gotten many of Henning’s favorite toys there before {he is in love with his Sophie the giraffe, and he uses these pacifiers every night!} They have an entire section on their site devoted to kid’s toys called ‘The Toy Shop‘ and it’s really great because it is divided by age which is helpful for a clueless mom like myself 🙂 While scrolling, I was immediately drawn to this ‘music-in-a-box’ set from Melissa and Doug. How cute is that? It comes with all these instruments and I knew Henning would love it – especially since our music class got cancelled due to the Coronavirus. When he opened it on Easter, he was so excited. He went straight for the tambourine and the maracas. I even put one in his crib and woke up the next morning to him banging it against the wall 🤣

I went down a rabbit hole while perusing Nordstrom’s selection, and with so many options, I may have gone a little overboard. It’s just so fun now that Henning is actually engaging with his toys {talk about perfect timing!} I ordered this ‘green toys’ dump truck, and this wooden truck with cars. Anytime we go over to my in-law’s house, Henning goes straight for the toys with wheels. It’s so cute. He just spins them round and round and watches as his older cousins ram them into walls {and each other 🤣} Other favorites that I’m eyeing are this colorful wooden peg game and this munch mit {he’s totally teething!}

So, even though I hope this quarantine ends sooner rather than later, I’m confident Henning and I will be good on the toy front for a while {I hope at least!} 😉 What are you and your kids go-to toys and activities these days? While we’re all stuck inside day after day, we all need a little inspiration, right? Let me know in the comments! xx B

thank you to Nordstrom for sponsoring this post

We are living in uncertain and unusual times. So many things have been cancelled – school, sports, our jobs even. But there is one thing, no matter what, that won’t go away and that is turning another year older. Due to all the restrictions we are facing and the social distancing we are adhering to, many people are spending their birthdays alone or with their immediate families. Gone are the ‘traditional’ birthday parties and dinners, and instead are more intimate celebrations we are having to get clever with! I was surprised how many of you were curious to hear what I was planning for my husbands birthday last weekend so I figured I would share everything I did here {+ a few bonus ideas at the end!}

Breakfast in bed – I had planned to surprise my husband with breakfast in bed, but a last minute conference call scrapped that plan so I just brought him coffee and a sweet card instead. We love hanging out and snuggling with Henning in the mornings so adding our coffee to that meant we could stay in bed and enjoy a little longer 🙂

Order flowers – Even though my husband doesn’t really care about flower arrangements, I thought ordering an arrangement or two would not only boost both our morales, but it would also help support a local business. I ordered one small and one medium arrangement from Pointers Petals here in Dallas and they were amazing to work with! Meredith was so sweet and responsive to all my requests and they delivered on time with no contact for me to worry about. All I had to do was wipe down the vases with a Clorox wipe and then I was good to go!

Order balloons – I wouldn’t normally order balloons for my husbands birthday but since we spent the entire day inside {it was also cold + raining} I thought big birthday balloons might add a lot of cheer {+ easy decoration that packs a big punch!} I ordered from Glamfetti and they turned out great! This is what I ordered and my husband really got a kick out it. The letters were also pretty easy to blow up + put together.

Make their favorite dessert – Every year since my husband was born he has had a special chocolate cake made for him by his ‘yoyita’ {basically his 3rd grandmother}. Due to our restrictions, I know he assumed he wouldn’t be getting the cake this year. I even made him chocolate cupcakes a few days before his bday to throw him off even more. Luckily, sweet Yoyita was able to make the cake and drop it off {she has been self quarantining for over three weeks} and let me tell you it was the BEST surprise! He was so, so excited and even more so since it reminded him of more normal times.

Set your table with your fanciest tableware – My husband and I have china from when we got married that we never use. Like literally, never. So, I thought it would be a fun, special surprise to set our table using all of our finest china and table wear. I got out the crystal and the beautiful place settings and made our at-home dinner feel just as special as a night out.

Open a special bottle of wine – My father-in-law bought a case of Bordeaux the year my husband was born and gifted it to us a few years ago. We finally decided to open and enjoy one of the bottles on Saturday night and it felt so special. If you don’t have a special bottle of wine, make a fun cocktail! My favorite one right now is this one. I’ve been drinking them nonstop!

Play a game together – As soon as Henning went down for his afternoon nap, we poured a glass of wine and started playing a game of Monopoly. We hadn’t played in years and it was fun to do something together that didn’t involve our phones or the TV. If you don’t have a board game, a puzzle would be fun too!

Last but not least, organize a surprise birthday drive by with friends & family {if your city/state allows}. This was the biggest surprise for my husband! I know he wasn’t expecting it at all and seeing all our friends and family {from afar!} for the first time in weeks really brought such a big smile to his face. We ended up spending an hour or two outside with Henning and a glass of wine in our front yard waving and chatting to people as they stopped by and it was really fun. Seeing friends and family – even if only for a few minutes – really is such a mood booster!

Other fun ideas: Zoom happy hour, order his/her favorite take out, karaoke party, or have a picnic! Im sure there are so many more fun ideas to make celebrating a quarantined birthday special, so feel free to leave any you have in the comments section! Dying to hear 🙂

Hope you are all staying healthy and sane! We are on day 29 of quarantine over here and doing the best we can! Each day is a new adventure…. xx B

Months ago I started thinking about the fact that Henning was going to start crawling soon. His little hands would be all over the floors we walk on everyday and then going straight into his mouth. It suddenly became very important to me to look into the products we were using to clean our floors. I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect – I don’t live in a house that is all nontoxic, but I have started to become more interested in a cleaner lifestyle so I knew I wanted to try and make better, cleaner decisions where and when I could. Starting with my floors not only felt manageable but also time sensitive and relevant because of Henning.

Long story short, I wasn’t far off and Henning started crawling right when he turned 8 months old {March 2020}. I had been following the Branch Basics story for a while now, so I knew their products were clean and non toxic and I loved that they were a Texas based company started by 3 women. I reached out to their team and they were kind enough to send me their starter kit and offer Being Bridget readers a 15% off code {BRIDGET15}!

The starter kit comes with a big bottle of their concentrate, three empty spray bottles, one foaming wash bottle, one laundry bottle and one ‘Oxygen Boost’ for all your laundry and stain removing needs. The best part for me is that you really only need the concentrate and water! With those two, you can clean the following: appliances, dishes, granite, grills, highchairs, jewelry, marble, natural stone, pacifiers, pots & pans, stains, stovetops, sticky spills, yoga mats….the list goes on. You can also clean anything in your bathroom like tile, grout, countertops, sinks, showers, tubs, toilets, fixtures, shower liners, and soap scum. The windex alternative helps remove streaks {and in my case, itty bitty hand prints} from windows, coffee tables, mirrors, computer screens, phones, tablets, shower doors and picture frames. Last but not least, the foaming wash {again, made with just the concentrate + water!} cleans your hands, face, body, baby, pets, make up, dishes, fruits and vegetables.

So far, I’ve used the streak free cleaner {bottle included in the starter kit} to clean the windows, coffee tables and mirrors. I’ve used the hand wash {bottle included in SK} to wash my hands daily as well as clean our fruits and vegetables when they come in from the grocery delivery. And last but certainly not least, the floor cleaner! Branch Basics gave me a break down on the amount needed to make the mixture myself, and the perfect mop to purchase so I was ready to make the super easy switch!

FLOOR CLEANER RECIPE + NEED LIST

1 oz {2 tablespoons} Branch Basics concentrate per gallon {or 16 cups} of water. Need: Mop + Gallon sized containers to hold excess mixture.

QUANTITY + PRICE  BREAKDOWN

33 oz. Concentrate Makes:

• 3 All-Purpose bottles (24 oz.) at $2.90 each
• 3 Bathroom bottles (24 oz.) at $5.80 each
• 3 Streak-Free bottles (24 oz.) at $0.20 each
• 3 Foaming Wash bottles (10 oz.) at $2.90 each
• 64 laundry loads at $0.24 per load

Seriously – 2 tablespoons per 1 gallon of water! Thats it! Isn’t that amazing? Makes me feel so good knowing that I’m using a safe and clean cleaner while also saving a LOT of money. Hope this information helps you and your family feel good about making a healthy and easy switch, and I hope you are all staying safe and healthy out there during such a scary and unstable time for our world.

Lots of love! B

Everyday I receive questions from readers or followers about my skincare routine. Whether it’s how I use certain products, if I’m liking something I mentioned or what I recommend for a specific issue, it’s always top of mind. And I get it! Who doesn’t want to learn more and be better about taking care of their skin? I’d say I’ve always cared about my skin to some degree, but it really kicked into overdrive 3-4 years ago. I started doing research and testing out products, and I had a blast sharing everything I discovered with all of y’all.

Well, fast forward to this year when I had Henning and my skin started acting totally cRaZy! Seriously – I went from having pretty typical ‘normal’ skin to extremely dry, textured skin that is prone to breakouts {ugh, hormones}. Anyway, I had to totally rethink my skincare routine and the products I was using.

First up – my cleanser. I had been using another product {that I still love} for years but it was clearly time to mix things up. Either my skin had gotten used to it or my skin needs had changed so much that it just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Enter in Cle de Peau’s Clarifying Cleansing Foam. Perfect for people with normal to oily skin, this cleanser is so incredibly creamy. With a little water and a dime sized amount, you will get the most beautiful lather you have ever seen. It feels so silky and smooth. In the last few weeks since I started using it, I have seen a noticeable improvement in my skin. Specifically, the texture of my skin – it feels soft and smooth.

I typically only use this cleanser at night. Since it is a little pricier, I like to save it for when I’m taking off an entire days worth of make up and grime. Plus, in the morning I usually just rinse my face with water! There is no real need {IMO} to deep cleanse the face in the morning because all that is on the skin are the products from your nighttime skincare routine!

If you’re in the market for a new cleanser or any new beauty products, check out Cle De Peau – I’ve seen such amazing results from every product I’ve tried from them yet {pretty sure their concealer has saved my new-mama face more than a few times at this point 😂} I’ve also been loving their serum and the face oil my husband gifted to me over Christmas! Lastly, if the clarifying cleanser doesn’t speak to you, maybe consider their softening version {great for normal/dry skin types}. Although their products are an investment, they have been definitely worth it! Check out my favorites below or head to Nordstrom to see more!

thank you to Cle de Peau for sponsoring this post