News & Reviews

Get ready for the holidays with bareMinerals

I was sent some samples to facilitate this review, but then I went out and bought even more products because I love bareMinerals so much. As always, all opinions are 100% ours. I’m so incredibly excited. I finally got out of my makeup rut I had been in all of my adult life where I … Read more

The gift of you from Helix

Sometimes buying something from a store for the holidays just doesn’t make sense. Whether your recipient doesn’t need anything at all or something from a store just doesn’t seem special enough, we all have people on our list who just need something different. Helix is that “something different”, and it’s quite possibly the coolest thing … Read more

Planning Family Pictures? Here’s everything you need to know

Mama and kiddos portrait

I’ve been a family photographer for almost 20 years. I don’t do too many shoots a week because blogging and mom life is all-encompassing these days, but I still am averaging a few shoots a month. Which means I still get the panicked emails from clients who want to know what to expect going into … Read more

6 easy tips for an effortless game day

Red Baron football party tabletop

I hope you enjoy this sponsored post and tips I came up with on behalf of Red Baron. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. With how serious we take our football parties, you would probably think they are planned weeks in advance, right? Would you be surprised to know that our game days are … Read more

Where we were: Country Village in Bothell, WA

Country Village puppy

Have you been to Country Village in Bothell, WA? I grew up going to Country Village with my mom and my aunts, and I have vivid memories of going to Harvest parties each fall and watching Santa ride in each winter. My favorite store there closed years ago when the owners retired, but there are … Read more

New from American Girl: the aloha spirit with Nanea Mitchell

Nanea from American Girl

I want to raise global kids, so I must show how in times of crisis we help each other. Whether that’s our neighbors, our friends, our community, fellow countrymen, or it’s those around the world in places we’ve never been that need our help, I want them to do whatever they can to lend a … Read more

What to expect during the August 21 2017 total solar eclipse

Usa_eclipse_map_v2_print
My first time really hearing about a solar eclipse was while reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court with my third grade class. The solar eclipse is a fairly big plot point in the story, so we spent a day or so going over what happens during a solar eclipse.

My teacher had experienced the last time the Pacific Northwest had a total solar eclipse, back on Feb. 26, 1979. No one in the class other than him was alive during the eclipse and I remember we all had a ton of questions for him. Hearing him talk about seeing the sky darken like that seemed like a life changing experience. Ever since then, I've wanted to see one for myself, and I'm super excited that the August 21 solar eclipse will be partially visible in Seattle. The first in my lifetime, and it just might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Want to know what to expect during the total solar eclipse that will cross the United States on August 21? Here's a quick primer:

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