All photos at f/16 1/40 Now that we're a one-car family I use the light rail and bus to get to and from work one day a week. The bus drives along Main Street in Mesa, not normally a route I would take. Mesa is just north of the highway from where we live in Gilbert but it has such a different feel. It feels run-down and a bit sad to me. It feels like the recession is still holding on tight. But along the way I've noticed some amazing vintage motel signs and it makes me wonder what Mesa... Read more →

For years, essentially since we moved into our house (5 years ago!), I have been dreaming of the time when every single square inch of our house is organized; when we've touched every object in the house and made a conscious decision about whether or not to keep it. (Can you even handle how exciting and adventurous my dreams are?) In so doing, I imagined that we'd only hold on to what is beautiful - either in appearance or in its significance - and/or useful. Guys, we are so close to this being reality in our house. I told Chris... Read more →

I've been wanting to do an update on how cloth diapering is going now that we've been doing it for over a year. It took a while for us to get in to our routine of when and how we wash our dipes but now that we have it down cloth diapering feels pretty easy. Routine = my happy place. Yes, we do a lot of laundry with cloth diapers but it's just part of our weekday activities along with unpacking Dashiell's bag from day care and getting dinner ready. Honestly, I don't really notice the extra laundry and it's... Read more →

I love homemade pizza (clearly). And a few weeks ago we upped our homemade pizza game by venturing into deep dish pizza territory. I love a thick crust pizza and this version did not disappoint. Instead of Trader Joe's pizza dough, normally our go-to, Chris makes the fabulous dough from Dinner: A Love Story. I use about two-thirds of the dough and pressed it into a 9-inch cake pan. Then, I top it Chicago-style, first slathering on sauce (Trader Joe's, naturally) and then toppings and cheese. Lately, our favorite toppings include mushrooms, marinated artichokes and jalapenos, latest pizza topping obsession.... Read more →

One of the ideal life goals for Team Wharton is owning only one car. And we've decided to go for it! As of this week, Team Wharton is a one-car family. Eeek! Being a one-car household is attractive to us because we will save money on car insurance and maintenance and we will be motivated to rely on our bikes and carpooling as much as possible, which would decrease our carbon footprint. Overall, it feels like a simplification in our life, even if in the adjustment there are sure to be frustrations. At first glance, being a one-car family seems... Read more →

The month is already underway! It started off with me having no energy for goals but! I think I've left the exhaustion of early pregnancy behind and I'm starting to feel like my energetic self again; so good to see her, we have things to do. Despite the heat my spirits are surprisingly high. Much credit goes to the glorious clouds, evening lightening viewing and fabulous storm we had just yesterday afternoon. I know it must sound strange but just to see clouds in the sky is a treat and even a bit of cloud cover makes being outside so... Read more →

Recently, I've become more conscious of buying household and personal products that are certified "cruelty-free" or that state "not tested on animals". The cruelty-free certification is something that a brand can obtain by working with the animal rights organization PETA but my understanding is that it is similar to a product claiming "not tested on animals". Animal welfare is very important to me and to our family. It's a big part of why we chose to eat a vegetarian diet and try to limit our consumption of animal products (we do eat eggs, yogurt and cheese). Ideally I'd like to... Read more →

!!! Are you surprised?! It's OK. We were a tiny bit surprised too. :) Chris and I were ready to have a second baby whenever it happened but it surprised us that getting pregnant again happened so quickly. We were really in disbelief at first and I had some fleeting thoughts of, "But we get to sleep through the night every night now! I'm just getting the hang of having one kid! I'm finally getting some me time! I've lost all my pregnancy weight!" But those were very quickly eclipsed with all the excitement that is having a baby! It... Read more →