July Monthly Musings // From The Inspired Abode
It’s hard to believe it’s already the middle of July – this year is flying by, and we have lots of exciting news to share + some upcoming ventures to share more about later this summer!
Last month, we were caught a bit by surprise when Kel’s baby girl was born five weeks early! Thankfully, she was in town when it happened, but B was on her babymoon in Del Mar, so she had to rush back to LA to make it in time for the pushing part of labor to begin. At 7:52pm on June 17th, Avery June was born – and she can’t wait for her cousin to be born in the next few weeks!
This month, we’re spending time cherishing newborn cuddles, preparing for B’s baby to arrive, and working on an exciting project.
Credits (clockwise from top left): Lyndsey Yeomans; NA-KD; KT Merry; Petit Stellou; Inspector Gorgeous; Dssys Productive Path
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING…
Since Kel is on maternity leave, she finally started Friends from the beginning, which we highly recommend for any fans of the show – or anyone who hasn’t seen it yet!
In the spirit of re-watching popular shows/movies, we’ve also had a lot of fun rewatching a few franchises: Batman, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and we’re adding Indiana Jones to the list too!
WHAT WE’RE LISTENING TO…
With late-night feeding/pumping sessions, podcasts have been a saving grace, so send us your pod recs!
This podcast on what alcohol does to the body was really eye opening & we’re excited to start making healthier choices while still enjoying the occasional spicy margarita, glass of wine, or martini!
WHAT WE’RE EATING & DRINKING…
We’ve been so lucky to have so many friends drop off food for us while on maternity leave, which makes us want to do the same for our friends in times of need!
B brought over homemade burritos made with homemade black beans & Spanish rice, which were SO good and healthy too!
WHAT WE’VE BEEN BUYING…
Our Safari & Google Chrome tabs have been consumed with baby stuff this month, but aside from all of the newborn-prep finds, we’ve done some shopping for ourselves!
Old Navy was having a 50% off sale (and they’re currently having another sale on clearance items), so we loaded up on some basics, like tees, joggers & tanks!
Amazon Prime Day is always an exciting time, and while we didn’t go crazy for ourselves (though we did snag the baby monitor we’ve been eyeing for $100 off), we did purchase a highly recommended faux olive tree for the nursery – can’t wait to see if it’s worth the hype!
We’re also so grateful to all of our friends & family for hosting and/or being part of our baby-shower experiences. We were so overjoyed by the generosity of family & friends who purchased presents both on & off our registries – and we loved how many people wrote in the cutest cards or children’s books + added stuffed animals to their gifts! If you’re attending a baby shower soon or putting together your own baby registry, here are some of our most-used items so far as new parents:
The Play Gym by Lovevery - This is a must for tummy time & we love how it grows with the baby for their developmental needs through all of their milestones!
BabyBjörn Bouncer - We haven’t been able to use this yet since baby girl’s under the recommended weight to use, but we can’t wait to start using it soon!
Keekaroo Peanut Changer - This is a game changer! It’s so easy to wipe up messes & there’s also a strap if you’re concerned about your little one rolling off the table.
Nuna Pipa Car Seat & Base - You’ll need this when you take your baby home from the hospital, and it’s so chic. We also made sure to get strollers that are compatible!
Philips Avent Fast Baby Bottle Warmer - We use this eight times a day for baby girl’s feedings, so it’s safe to say it’s one of our favorite & most-used products!
Baby Brezza Baby Bottle Sterilizer & Dryer - We have a sterilizer that doesn’t have a drying component, so we can’t wait to try out this option with a dryer to save on time & paper towels.
LINKS WE’RE LOVING…
We found this shop after seeing one of their “how to dress like a cool mom” videos on TikTok & it’s safe to say we’re obsessed! We haven’t placed an order yet, but by the looks of it the shop sells great clothes at an affordable price.
After seeing this Aritizia dupe video on TikTok, we bought these $25 Target sweatpants & can’t wait to see if we were influenced for the better or worse.
We have yet to make any of her recipes yet, but we are enjoying Carina Wolff of @kalememaybe’s Good Mood Food newsletter when it arrives in our inbox. She sends a new recipe every week (and even more to paid subscribers)!
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO…
July is all about baby time for us! Kel is looking forward to soaking up the rest of her maternity leave with baby Avery & B is awaiting her due date!
The weather has also been lovely & sunny, so we’re looking forward to enjoying the summer weather as much as we can before the fall temps begin!