As part of our new series called "Things We Love," we gather our nine favorite forest flower dresses for your little ladies that are the perfect transition from the bitter cold to the spring warmth that is oh-so-near.
Mornings: Autumn Reeser
AUTUMN REESER, ACTRESS ("THE OC," "NO ORDINARY FAMILY," "THE WHISPERS") AND ARTIST, SHARES HER MORNING ROUTINE AND UPDATES US ON THE NEW CHANGES IN HER FAMILY AND 2015 PLANS.
Dash wakes up between 6 and 7, I get up with him and change his diaper, get him something small to start eating, maybe half a banana. I make a latte and start breakfast for the boys, which is typically oatmeal or sometimes pancakes or crepes. Once that's going, Finn is usually awake and my trick with him is a rule I have that he has to get dressed before he can eat! It's tough with three year olds because they want to assert themselves at every opportunity and it can make the morning routine drag on, so a little 'breakfast bribery' to get things moving seems to work! I usually get Dash dressed while Finn is dressing himself, and then get them both settled in and eating their breakfast. I use that opportunity to get myself ready as quickly as possible, and by the time I'm done, the boys have eaten and it's time to leave for school!
Currently, it's an emotional time period and I am open to telling my boys when I'm having a bad day. I don't think it's healthy to hide all emotions from children, it's disingenuous and robs them of the opportunity to learn how to manage their own emotions with the realities of daily life. And let’s be honest… Some days are just plain hard even if you're not going through a divorce! Overall, I'm a positive and energetic person so I can usually rely on my natural desire to find the bright side in life.
I’ve learned not to plan too far ahead. Just when you think you have it figured out, something changes. It's far better to focus on being the in present, living fully in the current moment at hand. The future will come, the time will pass, whether you want it to or not. Just be. Just exist with your children and love them with your whole heart in this moment, right now, because that's all any of us really can count on.
As far as a different conceptualization of 'family' goes... I'm gonna have to figure that one out for myself first. I grew up with parents who have been together since they were 16 and 20, so the split household concept is entirely new for me and not an experience I expected to encounter in my lifetime. I'm relying a lot on advice from friends who have been through similar circumstances to help me shape my new worldview. The values I know I want to impart to my boys are freedom of expression, independence and self sufficiency. I think if you have those 3 things, life can throw a lot of curve balls at you and you still come out standing.
Don’t beat yourself up over trying to make things perfect, because you'll just be setting yourself up for disappointment. Some mornings we get our teeth brushed, some mornings we don't. Some mornings we wake up on time, some mornings we don't. Honestly, I'm just happy if everyone has food in their belly and shoes on their feet by the time we walk out the door! Just be in the moment and love those kids (and their beautiful chaos) with all your heart.
Finn and Dash's pajamas: Skylar Luna.
Autumn - Top: Everlane. Pants: Bella Dahl.
Finn's shoes: Zuzii.
Photography by Megan Welker
Creative Direction by Heather Hixon
Hair and Makeup by Julia Flaherty
Styling by Lucia Tran
Travel while you're young
Busy. A word that fills me with joy and also dread. My whole life I’ve been a self proclaimed workaholic. I love to work and I love to be busy. Our culture also happens to have an obsession with it too. Busy. Busy. Busy. “Hey, what are you doing Friday night?” “I’m busy.” “How are you?” “Ugh, I am so busy!” And we glorify this. We glorify this word as a direct indicator of our worth and the worth of others. And sure, to be hard working is an admirable trait, but the word busy implies a restlessness of the soul that requires work to find that worth.
As one of the co-founders of Trades of Hope, a photographer, and a blogger, my life can be cluttered. I love all I do and am passionate about my work, but I began to see myself filling my days with things to make me ‘busy’ but not at all purposeful. So last summer, my 8th grade sweetheart turned husband and I decided that in the midst of our busy life we were going to give away most of the things we owned, give up our apartment, renovate a camper and live a life on the road seeing the United States. This downsizing, this giving away of our life’s possessions, this traveling kind of lifestyle offered something in the midst of our busy-obsessed culture I had always wanted. Intentionality. Peace. Rest. Simplicity.
Don’t get me wrong, life can still be busy. I work from the road and speak for my company in each city we visit, but at night I return to the simplicity of a camper in the outdoors. Every few days, we wake up in a new location, with a new forest to explore, new people to meet, a new coffee shop to try, a new challenge to face. With these unexpected events happening so often, I am forced to slow my lifestyle down. Forced to become present. Forced to notice moments that happen right in front of me that I would have missed before.
And as we continue on this road trip, I am remembering. I am remembering what it is like to take walks every morning, something I used to do before I became obsessed with checking my email and Instagram from bed, sending me into a flurry of work driven hours before I even brushed my hair. I am remembering what it is like to cook breakfast with my husband and read something inspiring before my day begins. I am remembering what it is like to notice the girl behind the coffee shop’s cash register and the mother standing in the check out line and remembering what it is like to stop and talk to people, to care for them in a very ‘now’ sort of way. Living simply gives us this luxury to travel the U.S., the world even. As a young person, I am living a dream that will shape me for years to come. I am seeing mountains and rivers and lakes and oceans and people. Mostly, I am seeing people. I am understanding their hearts and hearing their stories from state to state and there are no distractions, there is just us and them and our stories to be shared.