Happy Thursday friends! I hope you all have been having a wonderful week! It’s been a little rainy and cold over here in San Diego, but I am sure we will be back to our typical sunny weather by this weekend! I hope the weather is getting warmer for you too! Today, I am starting a new series called “Things I’m Lovin’ Thursday.” This will be a post where I share my current faves, whether it’s a product, song, book, or podcast. I’m going to try to do these at least 1-2 times per month, so let me know if you like them!

I personally love finding out what other people eat, drink, read, listen to or obsess about. I don’t know if it’s being nosey or just curious, but I find that I learn so much, am exposed to things I might not have been before, and am left feeling inspired!

So here are a few of my current faves! Hope you enjoy the first post in Things I’m Lovin’ Thursday!

1//Starbucks Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso

Gahhh!! I have been doing so good about limiting how much Starbucks I drink and instead drinking my coffee from home! But when I saw this new drink come out, I was so pumped to try it! I love brown sugar flavoring and kept hearing so many good things about this drink so I ran to Starbucks and ordered one! It definitely lived up to the hype and did not disappoint!

It’s made with the signature Blonde espresso shaken, brown sugar syrup, topped with Oatly’s Oat Milk and finished with a few shakes of cinnamon powder. It’s seriously so good! A Venti is 170 calories, so it’s actually one of Starbucks lower calorie drinks. I typically half any pumps of syrup to make my drinks less sweet, but this one didn’t need it at all! It’s delicious, woke me up, and wasn’t super sweet! Win-Win for me!

The negative is that it’s like $6 and I am definitely not trying to spend that everyday on coffee. I decided to try my own version using my Nespresso machine! I made a super simple brown sugar syrup, used my Nespresso Vertuo Pod (i used one Double Espresso Chiaro Pod), added a dash of cinnamon and poured over ice cold oat milk! Instead of shaking so much, I actually frothed my oat milk and cinnamon powder in my Nespresso frother on the cold setting to get that foam! I stirred it all together and it tasted like the real deal! I’ve been having it every day this past week!

2// Briogeo Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-exfoliating Shampoo

If you love dry shampoo and use it regularly, you need this! I typically only wash my hair 1-2 times a week, after training it a few years ago. As a result, I use dry shampoo on a daily basis to add some texture to my hair and soak up any excess oil. But recently, I was feeling as if my scalp was starting to get a little dry and showing signs of product buildup. After searching through numerous products, I came across the Briogeo Charcoal and Coconut Oil Exfoliating Shampoo. It had great reviews so I quickly ordered and was so excited to try.

Once I used the product, I was sold! It has now been a staple in my hair-care routine for over two months. The shampoo is formulated with binchotan charcoal and plant-based exfoliators that work together to draw out and lift away buildup, impurities, dead skin and excess oil that may clog scalp and hair follicles. The peppermint, spearmint, tea tree, and coconut oils soothe and refresh after! I love the slight tingling feel and cooling effect it leaves. The tiny bits of charcoal in it lightly scrub your scalp and leave it really feeling clean! It’s such a win for me!

I typically only use this 1-2 times a month as needed! It is slightly drying for my hair so I always make sure to hydrate after. Whenever I use this shampoo, I follow up with a hair mask. My hairdresser recommended using OLAPLEX NO. 3 HAIR PERFECTOR and I have really been loving it! It adds the perfect amount of hydration, isn’t too heavy for my fine hair and it helps seal any split ends I may have!

I know the price tag may seem a little expensive ($42), it lasts forever. It’s not something you use daily, so if you use it 1-2 times per month it will last between 4-6 months!

3 // The Magic Playbook Subscription

Big fan of The Magic Playbook over here! It’s a monthly subscription for kids ages 2-6, filled with seasonal activities, crafts and sensory ideas for the month. You can pay a monthly fee of $9 or a yearly fee of $84 and you get access to all the activities, themed printables, an easy to shop supply list, a library list and screen time ideas for that month’s theme. It’s honestly the best ever! Both of my daughter’s love it! The graphics are so cute and it not only teaches them, but it inspires them to use their imagination. I’ve been a member for over 6 months and we have been having so much fun! All you have to do is print and play! I love it because I don’t have to plan the activities in addition to planning their schooling!

4 // My Newest Closet Additions

I have been feeling like I’ve been in a little bit of a fashion slump the past few weeks so I treated myself to some new clothes. The one requirement was that they couldn’t fall into the category of athleisure/loungewear. My typical mom uniform was consisting of a lot of oversized sweaters and leggings, so it was time for a change. When I saw that the Salty Blonde came out with a collaboration with Billabong, I ordered a few pieces, including this denim skirt.

Let me tell you a little story about my love for denim skirts. In college, I had this short denim mini skirt that I wore all the time. My husband actually remembers me wearing it before we even knew each other. He told me that he thought it was hot and was one of the things that sparked his attraction. So basically I owe my marriage and beautiful kids to that denim skirt. hahah!

Anyways, the Salty Blonde has a similar body type to mine so when I saw this skirt on her, I ordered it. I was a little hesitant because I wasn’t sure on the length. Definitely don’t want to flash anyone while chasing my kids! But once I tried it on, it actually wasn’t that short. It also hugs my curves really well and is super flattering. I can still move around and play with the kids, but feel stylish and put together. My husband loved this outfit and so did I.

I paired it with my favorite Brixton Joanna Hat, my new Steve Madden sandals (my daughter’s love the bling bling on them) and my new Exaggerated Shoulder Tank Top from Target (only $10)! The Steve Madden sandals do run slightly small and require a breaking in period.

Side note: If you buy the Exaggerated Shoulder Tank Top from Target, it does run slightly big. I ordered a size medium and could have done a small! But it’s only $10, comes in numerous colors and is a great and affordable way to try the exaggerated shoulder trend!

5 // This Month’s Reads

Reading is one of my biggest passions/source of relaxation. It’s something I do every single day, whether it’s late at night or in the early morning hours before my girls wake up. I also listen to audiobooks when I am folding laundry or cleaning. This helps me reach my goal of reading 3-5 books a month!

I read some great books this month! These three were at the top of my list! They were so good, that I watched absolutely no television, Nnetflix or Love Island re-runs the entire month!

Book #1

+ The Return by Nicholas Sparks – I loved this book! It was a great read and wasn’t like his more traditional romance novels. Nicholas Sparks, author of the Notebook, has an amazing way of writing and I pretty much love anything he writes. The Return is a heartwarming story about love, compassion, and self-exploration, mixed in with a bit of romance and mystery.

The story is about a man named Trevor Benson, an injured Navy Doctor with PTSD, and his return to a small town in North Carolina. His grandfather just passed away and he is left a dilapidated cabin and his grandfather’s beloved beehives. He ends up falling in love at first sight with deputy sheriff Natalie Masterson, who has a complicated love life of her own. Trevor is on a quest to find out why his grandfather was in another town when he passed away.

During that quest, he meets a runaway girl named Callie, a friend of his grandfather. Trevor tries to piece clues together, but the girl isn’t much help. She then has a medical crisis and Natalie and Trevor race against the clock to find out more about Callie’s past. At the same time, they are trying to shed light on the mysterious circumstances of his grandfather’s death. The story is filled with quite a few more twists and turns, but I don’t want to reveal too much.

I don’t know if I summed that up very well, but trust me, the book is definitely one you want to read!

BOOK #2

+ We Were The Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter – Oh man! I could not put this book down. It was hands down my favorite book and is one I would even read again. It’s a pretty emotional book and I definitely shed a tear a time or two while reading it! The book is inspired by the true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II and their determination to survive and reunite with each other.

The author, Georgia Hunter, wrote this book after learning she came from a family of Holocaust survivors and wanted to uncover more of her family’s history. An added bonus: her website shared her writing the book and offered some unique insight into this time period. The author was able to model the characters after her own family members, truly bringing them to life.

While this story was hard to read at times, it was beautiful and a great reminder of how the human spirit can endure and even thrive in the darkest of times.

BOOK #3

+ The Call of the Wild + Free by Ainsley Arment – If you are interested in homeschooling, I highly recommend this book! The author Ainsley Arment talks about how we can allow our children to experience the wonder of childhood longer while still creating a modern, quality homeschool education. It’s full of incredible information, advice, inspiration and beautiful images that really helped me feel more confident and inspired.

The book gives an overview of the more popular styles of homeschooling, how to incorporate various things into your day, importance of having a rhythm, the whys of homeschooling, but also really simplifies learning and teaching your child. It helped me feel less pressure to meet specific milestones at certain times, to adapt to my own child, to allow them to be kids longer, and to get out in nature every day!

This book serves as a great resource, but also as a reminder to have courage on this homeschooling journey!

Thanks for following along!

As always, thank you all for following along with us on our journey! We have had our blog for a little over 4 months now and it has been such a fun creative outlet. Be sure to follow us on instagram if you aren’t already. We also have a LiketoKNow.it account, where we post exclusive content as well! Both have the (username: sunkissedandgrateful

Hope you have a great week and hope you enjoyed my new series, Things I’m Lovin’ Thursday!

Don’t forget to read our last two posts on books to grow your child’s confidence and our favorite spring finds!

xoxoxoxox,

Kari

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