Big Plans: The Official Laurel Denise Blog

from Laurel:
I'm hook, line, and sinker sold out for Meghan and Harry and I don't care who knows OR that I'm about five years late. Whatever. Her show is great and so is the documentary! I want her to write a cookbook immediately.

Went on a roadtrip recently and a friend recommended The Telepathy Tapes and, let me tell you, it BLEW MY MIND TO PIECES.

The youngest and I have been reading the Emmie & Friends books by Terri Libenson and they have been so great. She's 9, but I feel like these books are giving her a good head start on what's to come in middle school so that she's not caught off guard. 

I recently found this little "Gwen Banana" which is just LOVE because my youngest is obsessed with bananas AND her name is Gwen! Match made in heaven! We bought this set for her as a birthday gift and then BOTH of my teens have requested it additional times to give to various friends.

The academic launch of LD just has me constantly seeking jewel tones - I found this affordable dress and have worn it three times now!

Speaking of jewel tones, this pen pouch is the dreamiest of dreamiest and my new favorite LD product.

I am loving Aarti Sequeira's cookbook Unwind. Like, actually I am loving it. My family and I have decided to make a meal from this book each Sunday and do the devo together. It's been a fun way to get my picky eaters to try some new things!

from Nancy:
Trust by Hernan Diaz - Got this one off Libby, can't remember who recommended it, started it on the drive into the studio, and can't stop thinking about the main character and his life path. Am I allowed to recommend a book that I have only read 5% of?? Lolly says yes.

Chicken Soup with Masa Dumplings - I had enough stock materials stored away in my freezer that it was starting to become a problem, so on a Sunday last week I decided that even though it was 70 degrees and 80% pollen outside, it was going to be a soup day. I found this recipe in Sohla El-Waylly's cookbook "Start Here," but if you don't have access to that, then just google chicken soup with masa dumplings. And make your own stock.  The dumplings gave the soup leftovers just a lil somethin somethin, making my lunch leftovers  for the rest of the week an extra cozy treat!

Block inserts from Laurel Denise - I haven't changed my planning style in a minute, but when I realized my messy to-do lists combined with my inability to estimate how many tasks I can do in one day was just not serving, something had to be adjusted. Introduce: weekly block inserts and itty bitty sticky notes. Writing my to-dos on the sticky notes and organizing them into the boxes on the block inserts has been a GAME CHANGER. I use the inserts horizontally (so there's 5 rows of 7, rather than 7 columns of 5) giving me maximum space for planning my week days, and it's been interesting figuring out which categories to sort my work tasks into. I'll get into it in our next Plan with Us Youtubes (posting at the end of May).

from Jenn:
Okay, I have to share my latest obsession—Seint makeup. I had a consult with Amy Miller (she’s also a Laurel Denise affiliate and the brain behind this spread), and not only did she do my makeup, but she built out a custom palette for me. And seriously? Game changer. Everything I need—foundation, bronzer, contour, blush, eyeshadow, lip color, setting powder, highlighter—is all in one compact. I typically wear makeup 2-3 times a week, and so far it has lasted me five months and counting! I just toss it in my Laurel Denise pen pouch with my Seint brushes and prep mist spray, and I’m good to go. We camp a lot and I drive an hour to our office every week, so the fact that I can do my makeup in five minutes and it takes up barely any space is a total win. So easy. So portable. So, so, good.

Post Note: Some of these links are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission for sharing, but we only link products we've tested and are officially Laurel Denise approved!