After spending three-plus months in isolation, when every day has felt largely the same, we are taking every opportunity to celebrate. Father’s Day is this weekend (!), so I put together this Father’s Day gift guide because I’ve been looking for special ways to honor the men in my life, from my own husband to friends, uncles and grandpas. Since Jared hasn’t been filming, we’ve gotten to spend a ton of time
Read MoreDIY: Rocket Ship for the Kids (Plus Cosmos for the Adults)
At this point, Elon Musk’s mission to Mars couldn’t come any faster. We’ve all been cooped up with nowhere to go and running out of ideas to keep everyone entertained. We’ve baked bread, planted vegetables, and made chalk obstacle courses—that I still am unable to get out of my kids’ clothes and our new sofa cushions, FYI. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not super enthusiastic about going
Read MoreThe Full-Body Stretch We All Need Right Now
Moving my body is something that’s really important to me, and I love to switch it up: running, yoga, classes, hikes. So exercising during quarantine has definitely been challenging. With nowhere to go, I’ve relied heavily on full-body stretch workouts from my friend and trainer Michelle Kuhnreich to fit in whenever and wherever (like the bathroom floor while I supervise the kids). It really doesn’t matter where I workout. Sometimes I just
Read More10 Postpartum Essentials
Since we just celebrated Mother’s Day, I want to highlight the importance of taking care of new moms and some postpartum essentials that can help ease the transition into motherhood. Sometimes, it feels like we worry so much about the baby that we forget about the person who just went through a grueling delivery. Giving birth is a life-changing event that should be openly discussed. It’s one of the most
Read MoreHow to Start Your Own Garden
Four years ago, I was a girl on a quest to create a garden I could eat from. It started with a chicken coop, then we added three garden beds. Fast forward to today, and we now have eight garden beds, a vertical garden from Lettuce Grow, and too many (are there ever too many?) potted plants, including lemon trees, a peach tree, and blackberry bushes. Our garden keeps growing
Read MoreWhat We’ve Been Cooking in Quarantine
We’ve always cooked a lot in the Padalecki household, but man—I’ve never cooked so much (or done so many dishes!) in my entire life as I have these last two months. And I know I’m not alone. With restaurants closed and takeout much harder to get these days, I’m pretty sure everyone is spending a lot more time in the kitchen cooking in quarantine. To battle the food boredom and
Read MoreParenting Through a Pandemic
When I first started this blog, I wrote about how I wished we’d all stop the mom shaming. (And yes, for some reason it’s always mom shaming, not dad shaming!) So I was thrilled when I heard that Lindsay Powers, who was editor in chief of Yahoo Parenting when they created the #NoShameParenting movement, wrote a book. Called You Can’t F*ck Up Your Kids, the book is a research-based, judgment-free
Read MoreFour Simple Ways to Use Less Plastic
Happy Earth Day! Being stuck at home has been a huge reminder for me of everything nature gives us. Even when there’s a global pandemic and I’m feeling anxious and scared, getting outside makes me feel better. Sunshine, feet in the soil, fresh air—I love it all. And since we’ve had extra free time with our thoughts lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to make the
Read MoreApril Quarantine Playlist
We are coming up on a month of sheltering in place at home, and—I’m not going to lie—things are tough. My brain is pulled in eight different directions all day long, and few things make me feel like myself. Along with nature (virtual and in real life), music has been providing some solace. Since we’re all in this together, I wanted to share my April quarantine playlist. (Fingers crossed there
Read More6 Nature Livestreams We Love
As the quarantine days tick by, I’ve been wishing I was back at Nimmo Bay. My boys and I took a trip of a lifetime there in the fall, where we escaped into the wilderness and saw grizzly bears, humpback whales, jellyfish and more. Since most of us are stuck at home these days, it’s even more important to turn off the news and get outside. And if you can’t
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