erica danielle

I made these muffins last night to go with our soup and I want to remember this easy recipe, bc they were super tasty.  Mine made 11 muffins, and the whole process took about 20 mins.  Lemon Muffins Ingredients: 1 1/3 C whole wheat flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 C butter 1/2 C sugar 2 eggs 3/4 C plain Greek yogurt 1 tsp vanilla 10 drops lemon essential oil.  Cream together butter and sugar, add eggs, yogurt, vanilla, lemon essential oil. Then add dry ingredients.  Bake in 450 degree preheated oven for 12 mins.  These are definitely best out of the oven! I also would like to experiment making with almond flour, and maybe adding in some blueberries or something. But they are great as is!  On Saturday night my high school girlfriends came over for what I’m calling "burgers and baby talk." We caught up on all things and ate burgers with our families while the big kids played together, the guys talked about sports and we all took turns holding Maeve ...

Have I already posted this picture? I just can’t even believe these 2 belong to me. I feel increasingly thankful that I get to spend my days with them and watch their little bond grow.  There was so much time where it just felt like they didn’t like each other. They were unkind and seemed to not care about the others presence, but now they seem like they want to be together. Want to play and genuinely have fun together, it makes me so happy.  It’s been fun to see and hear all the things Lucy has been doing at school- the other day I walked up to pick-up and saw this sign right outside her door: 3rd one down, Lucy’s "super power" is "hugging my brother". 💕 I hope they stay friends forever. Siblings are the greatest gift.  xo. edc. 

Haven’t really felt the "weekend" term as much as I do this week. We had the car packed and as soon as Lucy was done with school Friday we headed up to Bay Lake to take out the boats and spend one more weekend in one of our favorite places.  This week was really good for me. Full of new habits and lots of rest. I feel the "outer order, inner calm" more than I ever have before as I’ve incorporated some new habits into our new schedule, and have really found joy in my days.  My friend Trisha gave me the run fast, cook fast, eat slow book. It was just so sweet of her and I have been reading it nonstop since. Cookbooks are my favorite and especially when paired with one of my favorite runners and healthy recipes.... perfection! I can’t wait to cook through it, finding my go-to recipes and making marks in the beautiful pages.  Happy weekend! ✨ edc. 

Lucy started school at Bethel Highlands on Monday. She was so excited all morning. We loaded up her backpack (with 1 folder) and went to meet her teacher, find her hook and  her name on the door then gave a few more hugs and let her go! What a crazy feeling! She loves it. We’re 3 days in and she just can’t wait to go back each day. She loves her teacher Miss. Mollie and even though I don’t get a ton of information from her, she is bursting with joy when I pick her up at 3:30.  Here’s Lucy and Lyla with their backback hooks right next to each other! 💕 Lyla is a friend we met at church and it was a total bonus to be in the same class together. Who doesn’t love a built in friend??  My time during the hours of 12:50-3:30 are SO. QUIET. Olle is napping the whole time so I just do whatever I want. My goal each day is to do 1 productive thing. But honestly, my even bigger goal has been just to rest and enjoy some peace. I hope I never take those 2 hours for granted. It has been...

It’s crazy to think of the people we barely knew 1 year ago, and how now they are the people whom our kids get excited to see, and we show up to their houses and walk right in.  Last night we went to Pettis Fest, where we ate delicious food, chatted and watched our kids run around for hours. There were lots of baby bumps, lots of littles and a whole slew of big kids, just being kids. We finished off the night sitting front row on lawn chairs listening to Nathan Anderson under the twinkling lights with tiki torches lit. These are the nights that make friends, friends. I watched Olle run around in the dark with his big buddies, and anytime he would get hurt one of them would kindly walk my crying little boy over for a quick snuggle and then he’d run off again, ready to play, not wanting to miss out on the fun. It makes me happy to think about the fact that these are the boys Olle will learn from, look up to-- those that include him in play and care enough to take a break when he’s hu...

I just spent way too much time going through baby pictures of Lucy, and settled on this one for some reason. Look at this little chunky bundle: One thing that is evident in EVERY single picture is how much Sten and I thought (and still think) she was the absolute best. Without a doubt, this girl has been doted on, oooo'ed and ahhhh'd over since the day she was born. I also clearly had way too much time on my hands, because there isn't a single picture where she isn't dressed to perfection and looks freshly bathed. (I can't say the same is true anymore). I can't believe she heads to school next week, and then turns 5 a couple short weeks later. There is something about FIVE that seems much bigger than all the other birthdays. I think just because I've changed so much in 5 years. I feel like a completely different person-- so often motherhood brings out the best in people, and I think that is *partially* true of me, but it has also shown me how selfish...

I’m looking forward to this month for lots of reasons. It’s Lucy’s 5th birthday, she starts school, we have our fall kick off at church, and our women’s retreat at the end of the month. I think my whole life will fall a little more into place as a schedule must be had and routine must be put into practice. My life for the last 5 years as a SAHM has been a lot of "what should we do today?" so this is a big change for us.  The nights have been a little cooler around here and Sten and I finally sat out on the porch the other night. I want to do a lot of evening porch sits this month, as well as staying motivated to meal plan and feed my family healthy things. Lastly, I want to find time for me, and not be afraid to ask for it. Sten gave me the morning off yesterday and I felt so rejuvenated. I hate putting more on someone else’s plate, but I know I have to in order to stay sane. My last September "to-do" is make my way up to 20 miles, I was on 15 this weekend and ended...