Thursday, October 24, 2019

My Planner Choice for 2020


I might actually be one of the ten people on planet Earth who still use a paper planner. I can't help it! I NEED it to function. I get so many notifications on my phone that I am in the habit of just swiping them away, so using google calendar and reminders just doesn't work for me. Plus, writing things down reinforces my tasks in my head and I'm less likely to forget things that way. I actually was conditioned to need a planner from a very early age. When I started school in 3rd grade at Geneva School of Boerne, the first thing I saw when I got to my desk was a crisp new navy blue planner. We wrote all of our assignments in it and each year, we got a new one. It was probably one of my favorite parts of starting a new school year. I'd open up my planner, flip through each month, take a whiff of the delicious book smell and write my name in the front. I do all that when I get a new planner, to this day! 




I wasn't always the most organized child. I had ADD before people really believed that ADD was a thing, so I really struggled to scrape by with a C average almost every year. My poor parents and teachers tried EVERYTHING to help me, but it all felt pretty hopeless at the time. I didn't get diagnosed with ADD until adulthood and DANG it was life-changing. I finally had an explanation for what I had gone through during my school years! I got medicated and learned to use some available tools to help keep myself on track, which included finding a planner I could really stick to; one that kept everything in one place.

Believe it or not, there is a MASSIVE community of planner obsessed people like me. Just type "planners" into the Facebook search bar and you'll find numerous groups and pages devoted to finding "planner peace". You're probably rolling your eyes right now, but there are SO MANY different types of planners to choose from. They all have different features and it's important to know what you want out of a planner because you'll be looking at it all day every day, so you want to make sure that it's going to work for you before you get started. 


For example: Do you want a monthly, daily or weekly or hourly layout? Horizontal or vertical? Dated or undated? What size do you want? 12 month or 17 month? What paper quality do you need? Do you want something bright and colorful or simple with a lot of white space? Do you need a pocket folder inside? Extra notebook pages? SEE? I told you! It's a major decision.

From 2014-2015 I used a Happy Planner, then I switched to Erin Condren from 2016-2017. After that, I went back to a Lilly Pulitzer planner like I had senior year and I really liked it, but when I went to check out this year's crop of planners, I found one I'd never seen before. It's the Barnes and Noble - Kate Spade 17 Month Mega Planner.


Ain't she a beaut? I love the gold coil and the foil detail on the books on the cover!

Each month begins with an inspirational quote and a place to write monthly to-dos, save the dates and birthdays/special events. Those pages are a nice light blush color. Next, you've got a monthly view with a nice long notes column.


And here is the weekly view! It's nice and clean with plenty of writing space and room for my fun stickers and washi tape. At the end of the month are two notes pages. I LOVE that they added this! It's a nice, easily accessible spot to jot down quick thoughts and make to-do lists.


While I usually go for something more bright and colorful, I'm really looking forward to using this clean slate of a planner this year. I've got a lot more going on now with social media, Glitterati, motherhood and being a home maker, so I need tons of space to write. I think I really did find planner peace this year! We'll see how I feel after a few weeks of actually using it, though.

So what do you think? Am I a nut? Are you a planner person, too? If so, I'd love to know which planner you picked for the upcoming year. Let me know in the comments! 

xoxo- Rachel


Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Cloth Diapering Is Easier Than You Think!


I've said this before and I'll say it again... Before I got pregnant I NEVER thought I would cloth diaper. I had friends who SWORE up and down that it really wasn't difficult, but I don't think I actually believed them.


It wasn't until I was showing Gil how to use the diaper genie that my friend had passed down to us that the idea of cloth diapering surfaced. As I demonstrated the way that the diapers are collected in the diaper genie and how you tie it off, Gil said something to the affect of "and then you just have basically a sausage casing of dirty diapers in a plastic bag that you throw away?!". When you think about it, it's pretty gross. We started watching some YouTube videos from parents who cloth diaper and the reasons why they did it. That's when we learned that over 26 BILLION diapers end up in landfills each year! And it takes 500 years for a diaper to decompose. That was TOTALLY insane to us. There are other reasons people recommend cloth diapering, too. 

1. Better for the environment. As I stated above, 26 billion diapers are thrown into landfills each year and they take 500 years to decompose. With cloth, you aren't contributing to those numbers!

2. Resale value. If you take good care of your diapers, they will last you a long time! You can use them for multiple children and sell them when your kids are potty trained.

3. Children who are cloth diapered generally potty train faster because the cloth diapers don't wick moisture away from their genitalia the way that disposables do. 

4. Affordability. The average family spends almost $1,000 a year on disposable diapers! You can buy a complete cloth diaper stash for anywhere from $150-$300 depending on which diapers you buy. 


5. Less chemicals. Believe it or not, there are SO many odd chemicals in disposable diapers that enable them to absorb the way they do. With cloth, most diapers are made from just cotton and the PUL which is the waterproof outer layer.



6. Less diaper rashes. A lot of babies are sensitive to the chemicals in disposables. I have experienced this with Olivia. She gets SO many fewer diaper rashes when she is in cloth.

7. They're really cute. I've shown you some of my favorite prints on my Instagram, I mean... it's so much fun! There are so many fun brands and prints to explore and collect. It really becomes a fun little hobby. 

8. There is nothing cuter than a fluffy cloth diaper booty. haha



We knew we wanted to cloth diaper eventually, and we got started later than I would have liked because I couldn't figure out how to get a good fit on Olivia's legs so she was leaking out of her cloth diapers. She also pooped A LOT, so I felt like I would be washing cloth diapers like twice a day. It wasn't until around 4.5 months that we decided to give cloth diapering another try because Olivia was having SO MANY blow outs in her disposable diapers. We took that as a sign to go ahead and try cloth again. So we opened up the stash of cloth diapers that our friends had given us and started cloth diapering at home. She went from having blowouts literally every day to only having small leaks maybe once or twice a week! 


Here's our process. We have a shelf next to our changing station and that's where we store the cloth diapers. When she has a dirty one, we change it and toss it into a white plastic trash can next to the changing table. Currently, I have enough cloth diapers that I only have to wash them every other day. My new favorite cloth diapers are Alva Baby diapers. They are SUPER affordable compared to many other brands. They have a microfiber insert for absorbency, so I remove the insert before I toss it in the bin. If she has eaten solids recently, I spray the poop diapers off in the toilet with my diaper sprayer and then put the rinsed diaper in the bin. When it's time to wash, I just dump all of the diapers into the washing machine!

Wash Routine. When you wash cloth diapers, agitation is everything. You want to make sure that the consistency of your wash load is like a stew. You can add any other laundry you want to bulk your laundry load, too! First, we do a cold, light wash cycle with a small amount of laundry detergent as a pre-wash. Then I wash them on a hot, heavy cycle with a FULL CAP of detergent regardless of how full the washing machine is. You want to make sure that you use either a free and clear detergent, or a detergent with NO fabric softeners. That can cause buildup on your cloth and they will lose absorbency. (If you miss the delicious smells that fabric softeners brought to your laundry room, you can use scent beads! I LOVE the Dreft scent beads in my cloth diaper laundry. Smells like sweet little babies. Now I use them in all of Olivia's laundry.) You can hang dry diapers, or throw them in the dryer on a low heat setting. Alva Baby diapers dry pretty quickly, but you might find that other diapers take a little longer to dry. 

While we do primarily cloth diaper, we still use disposables overnight because it's more convenient and we haven't found the perfect overnight cloth diapers. And we would NEVER judge anyone for using disposables! It is definitely the norm and not everyone has time to learn the process and do the laundry. It's a commitment for sure, but we are significantly decreasing the amount of diapers we contribute to landfills and that feels good! Below, I'm linking all the products and resources that have been so helpful in our transition to cloth diapering. Just click the pictures for more information! 

My Favorite Diaper Brand!


Our Diaper Sprayer

Dirty Diaper Bin

Dreft Scent Beads

Fluff Love University Website

Fluff Love and CD Science Facebook Group




Has this been helpful? Are you going to try it?! Are you brave enough? :P It really isn't that bad if you have the right supplies! Plus, I am SO GOOD at doing laundry now. 

xoxo- Rachel

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Our Trip to Canyon of the Eagles






We are feeling refreshed after our quick trip to Canyon of the Eagles. To be honest, I wasn't SUPER thrilled about this trip because 1) I was terrified to take a road trip with a baby who doesn't love the car and 2) I've never heard anyone say "OMG, you HAVE to go to Burnet".

I asked for y'all's suggestions on Instagram for how to make this trip as easy as possible with Olivia and your advice was SO appreciated. I pumped in the car so we didn't have to stop to nurse the baby, I made her a couple new toys to play with and we traveled primarily during her nap times. And we didn't even have to make any pit-stops! It went pretty darn well!

We left mid-morning on Friday and made it to Burnet to meet my parents in time for lunch and antiquing. And, hello... We also got caffeine. Even Olivia enjoyed a latte. 


(JK. She was chewing on Gil's empty cup.)

It was soooo cold and everyone was taking turns holding Olivia and imagine my reaction when I walked out of a store and saw THIS CUTENESS. 


We got Olivia a bunch of cute stuff from a children's resale shop in Burnet called Dragontails Children's Consignment. Her fall and winter wardrobe is almost complete! Can't wait to show you her cute outfits.

After shopping for a while, we finally pull up to the resort and it was just gorgeous. We stayed in one of the cabins overlooking the lake. It's pet friendly, so we brought our puppies with us. 



The Overlook Restaurant has a delicious menu and everything we had was fantastic. The lake was so peaceful and the views are incredible.


There is an observatory on the grounds with an extremely knowledgeable astronomer who has a program every night where he teaches about the stars and planets and you can see them through his telescope! Unfortunately for us, it was too cloudy to see anything, but we still learned a lot! There was also a man giving a presentation about local snakes and reptiles. He had tons of snakes and lizards and even a rat snake that you could interact with. His name was Henry. Gil loved him. 


There is live music almost every night and a campfire always burning. They even have s’mores kits for sale in the gift shop! I’m sure there are even more things to do that we weren’t aware of as we only stayed one night. We highly recommend this place. It was so peaceful there and had a perfect atmosphere to relax and spend time with loved ones. Click here to learn more about Canyon of the Eagles!

At the end of our trip, we were very tired (especially Olivia) and I think that's a sign that we had a lot of fun. Have you taken any good trips in Texas this year? Let me know where we should go for our next vacation!

xoxo- Rachel





Tuesday, October 8, 2019

How to Make Cloth Baby Wipes


Recently, I was at a girl's night at my sister in law's house. Olivia was with us and I was changing her diaper and we all started talking about cloth diapering. I was explaining how we do it and how I made cloth wipes. I'm sure I rambled for way longer than anyone was paying attention, as I tend to do when I'm excited about something. Then, once I finally shut my mouth (lol) my sister in law said "Wow, Rachel! You're pretty granola!" and I realized "huh. I guess I am!"







It's definitely not something I thought I would be doing before becoming pregnant. However, trying to cut down on how much waste our family puts out into the world has definitely always been a goal of mine. I realized that we could make a big impact on the amount of diapers and wipes that go into landfills by doing just a little more work. One more in the wash, one less in the landfill!


We started doing cloth diapers with Olivia when she was 4 months old and I wish we would have done it sooner, but hey. We're on a roll now! After about a month, I realized I'm already doing the laundry with cloth diapering, so why not try cloth wipes! And y'all it's SO easy. 





Here's what you'll need:


- baby wash cloths (I use about 30 cheap ones from Walmart)
- witch hazel (I like the lavender one for a soothing affect and a light fragrance)
- filtered water
- a container to keep your wipes in

Instructions:

1. Put your wipes in the container! I like to roll mine up and place them into my container lengthwise.

2. Pour 2 cups of filtered water into a measuring cup.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of witch hazel to the water. I'll be honest. I just eyeball it.

4. Mix it all up.

5. Pour it over your wipes. 


It's literally that easy. If you want, you can use a tiny bit of baby soap, as well! Once they're used, throw them into the bin with your dirty cloth diapers and wash them with the same wash routine. I end up having to make new wipe solution about twice a week (and I'm actually about to go do this as we speak). Let me know if you try it! Do you have other cloth wipe tips? Share them in the comments!

xoxo- Rachel


P.S. I've got a more in depth cloth diapering post coming up within the next few weeks, too. But, for a little extra insight into cloth diapering, you can check out my cloth diapering Instagram highlight! 

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Free Fall Wallpapers!


Fall is my favorite season. I'm not that much of a Halloween person, but there's just something about the cooler temps, clearer air and changing colors that sparks creativity in me. It's a hygge season and I start to get REALLY pumped for the upcoming holidays. That being said, I was feeling in the spirit the other night while drinking a glass of red wine, the scent of my Autumn Leaves candle wafting my way, and I made you three fun fall phone wallpapers! Just click the thumbnail of the wallpaper you want to download and it'll take you to the nice big gorgeous version to save to your phone. If you do download one and use it on your phone, take a screenshot, save it to your Instagram stories and tag me @ohrachie! I'd love to see. 







Enjoy! xoxo- Rachel





Thursday, October 3, 2019

Fall Nail Colors for Pantone Autumn/Winter 2019

Do you follow the Pantone colors for each season? As someone who loves color, it's so amazing to me that there are people whose job it is to study color trends. I think I'd be good at it. Pantone? Hit me up. :P 




Here are the color trends that Pantone picked for Autumn and Winter 2019 NY Fashion Week. 






Such beautiful colors. Although, I gotta say "Guacamole" is an interesting choice, in my opinion.



I like fashion, but I'm mostly a jeans and t-shirts type of girl. So, I like to keep up with the color trends by painting my nails! I have (last count) over 170 nail polish colors. I LOVE IT.

Here are 4 gorgeous Essie colors that correspond well with the Fall/Winter 2019 Pantone picks.


Essie - "Little Brown Dress"


This rich, chocolaty shade is a gorgeous creamy brown with a slight tinge of purple. 


Essie - "Cashmere Bathrobe"


Cashmere Bathrobe is a dark blueish grey with a tiny bit of glitter to it. Not sparkly, but it adds somewhat of a metallic look to the color.

Essie - "Hiking Heels"


This beautiful bright red has an orange tone that reminds me of a red pepper. It would really stand out against the neutral shades most people lean toward during the cozy fall and winter months.

Essie - "Chinchilly"


This might be one of my favorite Essie colors of ALL TIME. Its a slightly purplish taupe color perfect for every season, but reminds me of Pantone "Paloma". 

You can't go wrong with any of these dreamy shades, in my opinion. This is NOT a sponsored post, I just love Essie and I love how readily available it is. What are your favorite polish colors for fall?! Tell me what I've gotta buy...

xoxo- Rachel










The Weekly Bake


My mom is an incredible cook! Growing up, we ate dinner at home probably AT LEAST 6 nights a week. She's one of those gifted people who can whip up a delicious meal out of the most seemingly random ingredients. It follows that my idea of a great mother includes being creative in the kitchen, so that's something that I'm striving for. I want Olivia to remember all the yummy things that I made for her. 

 




I like to cook and I can follow a recipe well, but I REALLY love to bake. I desperately want to be a freshly-baked-cookies-after-school kind of mom. So, I have decided to bake at least one thing a week! I call it (drum roll please) "THE WEEKLY BAKE". Original, I know. I've been doing this for the past 3 weeks and I've posted each creation on my Instagram. You can click the pic below to head over there and check it out.



I bake every week on Wednesday and I post to my Instagram stories what we're going to bake the day before, that way, if you want to bake it with me, you can send me a DM and I'll send you the recipe! I also save all the recipes to a board on my Pinterest. I'll link to that below so you can get ALL the recipes we have made thus far.
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If you bake one of these delicious recipes, tag me on IG! I'd LOVE to see how they turned out for you. 

xoxo- Rachel




Wednesday, October 2, 2019

The Easiest Banana Muffins!


We love bananas in the Guajardo household! Even Olivia, who has started eating solids occasionally, seems to like them. However, they always seem to get spotty faster than we can eat them. 




I found this recipe when I had two browning bananas and I was feeling in the mood for baking. The recipe is from The Happy Housewife and, she's right! It really is the easiest banana muffin recipe EVER. I whipped these up so quickly, while drinking coffee and wearing Olivia in our Wildbird sling. If I can do it while babywearing, it definitely can't be that complicated. 


Image may contain: 2 people, including Rachel Guajardo, people smiling, baby and closeup

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures when I made the muffins. If you want to get REAL CRAZY, add chocolate chips. That's what I did. 

Click the picture below for the recipe! Let me know if you make it in the comments. 


easiest banana muffins ever


xoxo- Rachel


My Company- Glitterati Sparkle Bar!


It all started with a "reality TV" show (don't most things?). I was watching an episode of a show where cast members were getting all glammed up for a pride parade. There was a woman, adorned in glitter, applying beautiful flags and patterns in glitter on their faces and bodies. 




I was MESMERIZED. Like, what?! This is a thing?! Why haven't I seen it before? How can this be a job? How can I make this MY job? And then my ADD hyper-focus superpower kicked in and within a few days, Glitterati Sparkle Bar was born. I made the branding material and had a mini photoshoot, created a google account and started an Instagram for my new glitter company! What’s that quote? 

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you always imagined.” - Henry David Thoreau 

Image may contain: text that says 'Glitterati SPARKLE BAR'





I'm a big believer in planning, as you might already know about me, if not, you’re sure to soon find out. However, I also believe that sometimes you have to fake it til you make it and just jump headfirst into a project you’re passionate about. I didn’t put tons of money into it because I did it all myself! So, what did I have to loose? 

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I started reaching out to friends and family and telling them about my new project. My friend Emma Faye had a music festival she was organizing called Good Vibrations Music Festival. She had been looking for a face painter... PERFECT! I reached out and within a month, I had a booth at a music festival! We were PACKED the whole day. It was so fulfilling. I sat in my booth glittering gorgeous faces for 10 hours straight and it didn’t even feel like work. 

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, child, outdoor and closeup

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, closeup





Now, Glitterati Sparkle Bar is a fun little side hustle for me. I do parties and events and occasionally just bring my glitter to my friends house to sparkle them up for fun. If you'd like to book us for an event, send me an email at rachelglitterati@gmail.com! You can also follow us on instagram at www.instagram.com/glitteratisparklebar. See you there!  

xoxo- Rachel