April 2025

favs and finds

Apr 27

April In Review

April was here and gone before I knew it. Time flies when you’re having fun, and pregnant! Yes, we are expecting baby #2, a baby girl, arriving Labor Day—I like her sense of humor already. I saw a meme on Instagram the other day that said: There’s Tired, There’s Pregnant Tired, and There’s Pregnant with a Toddler Tired. I am now proudly in category #3. I can’t imagine how tired parent’s expecting their third or fourth must be. Between work and keeping myself, and now two little humans (one thankfully still in my belly) alive, I feel like April came and went in the blink of an eye.

Things I will remember most about April:

Having my bestie, Gabby, and her twins visit for a long, lazy afternoon. Charlie couldn’t help herself — two real, live babies to hug and love for an entire afternoon? I think she’s going to really enjoy being a big sister. During the same weekend, our friends Karin and Chris brought their much older kids, including their set of twins. It was kind of wild to think that our babies are going to be that size one day, not too long from now. Makes you really want to soak up every moment with your littles.
Having my first girls’ trip since being a mom to NYC with Tasha, to go to Jubilee and enjoy some special time with my brother, Brad, and my future SIL, Claire, more about our food-scapades in NYC below.
Easter! Baby Birthday Parties! And celebrating my dad’s 65th birthday.

In May, I’m looking forward to celebrating: my mom’s birthday, my second mother’s day (!!!), a Black Tie Gala for Ronnie’s Work (Mind’s Matter Benefit for Brain Cancer Research), a trip to Banff, Canada for President’s Club, our annual ‘user’ conference at work, and ending the month with a trip to New Buffalo, MI for Memorial Day with our family and friends to officially kick off Summer 2025!

What are you looking forward to in May?

Alright, onto the good stuff.

Favs From the Month

Fav Book: After listening to the ep. with Dr. Amen (see below), I picked up How To Raise Mentally Strong Kids, by him and co-author Charles Fay, PhD. I’m not all the way through this one yet, but what I like so far is that the approach to the book’s objective is three-fold: 1) teach you to develop a love-affair with your own brain, 2) teach your child to love and protect their brain, and 3) educate your child about how to care for their brain. Our brains are arguably the most important organ in our body, yet, we spend very little time appreciating it, caring for it, and some of us play sports that actually deliberately bash it up! (Me included, hello, women’s Rugby!). I’m excited for all that I will learn about my brain and how to help my daughters care for their brains.
Fav Podcast Episodes: Dr Daniel Amen, MD on Khloe in Wonderland. On this epsiode, Dr Amen explains how he was the first pschologist to introduce brain scans into the practice and has since helped hundreds of thousands of cases of brain health issues (aka mental health issues) by understanding things like blood flow, oxygenation, etc. in the brain. He started as a X-Ray tech in the Army, where his mentor said “If you don’t look how can you know?” While pricey, you can actually get a SPECT scan yourself ($1500-$3500/scan; insurance might cover it, but you should look into it first).
Fav Show: I have been obsessed with The Studio this month. The show takes you behind the scenes at a Hollywood Movie Studio run by people-pleaser Seth Rogan and his team. The core cast includes Seth Rogan, Catherine O'Hara, and Kathryn Hahn, while rotating through episodes you might see one of your favorite actual Hollywood writers, portraying themselves (ahem, Martin Scorcese, Ron Howard) or actual Hollywood actors, also portraying themselves (Charlize Theron, Olivia Wilde, Zac Efron, Anthony Mackie). It’s one of those shows where you feel like more and more anxious while you watch it. The scenes and dialogue move fast, and they’re accompanied by music that is either setting the pace or keeping up with the pace of the dialogue. It’s really fun! Oh, and you get an epic Bryan Cranston moment.

What I made: This month was light, to say the least, on the cooking front. Some memorable meals included: Banana Bread, Sausage and Peppers, and this easy Sheet-Pan Honey Lemon Salmon with Broccolini dinner. I also made Allison Roman’s Blueberry Muffins — YUM! The only recipe I (finally) created was Mendocino Farms Thai Mango Salad Dupe… YOU GUYS, it’s soooo good. Instead of making too much food this month, I made updates to our home architectural layouts (this took a ton of time), made time to see friends and family every weekend, oh, and made a baby! (I am 23 weeks pregnant as you read this! Baby girl #2 comes Labor Day).
Where I went: A trip to New Buffalo, Michigan, at the beginning of the month, included time to see some of our besties and their kiddos, as well as a great day of making pizza from scratch, and a fabulous meal at PostBoy. A trip to NYC, at the end of the month, to attend Jubilee Conference by Cherry Bombe was a highlight of the month, I got to hear Asma Kahn speak about her life and career, she was hilarious, as well as, meet one of my favorite recipe developers, NYT Best-Selling Authors, Caroline Chambers (creator of What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking). But maybe more than any of that, I got to spend a weekend gallivanting around NYC with my bestie (Kame, Pastis, and Tea at The Palm Court inside The Plaza Hotel were all highlights), Tasha, and even met up with my brother and future SIL for a magical dinner at Kiko Soho.

Finds

New Foods:
- My current obsession is ice-cold Lemon Perfect in Watermelon Flavor, Costco has a 15ct pack that’s been our go-to this month.
New Personal Things:
- Finally! A natural deodorant that goes on easy, and lasts all day!!! Humble Brand in Bergamot & Ginger is my new go-to. Kudos to Tasha for road-testing this for me for a few months so I could be the benefactor of her great recommendation!
New App:
- I re-downloaded Vixer, my favorite video-editing app to create this masterpiece to commemorate my family’s easter debauchery. Vixer makes editing video clips and then compiling the full story super easy. I only wish they had better auto-captioning.

Looking Forward to May

I recently finished DOSE Effect by TJ Power, and it lived up to its compelling premise in every way.

Written by neuroscientist TJ Power, the book provides a practical framework for improving mental and physical well-being by focusing on four key brain chemicals: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins (DOSE).

Power argues that imbalances in these neurotransmitters are the root of many of our modern struggles, such as low mood, lack of energy, and difficulty concentrating. He explains that our modern lifestyles exacerbate these imbalances. However, by understanding these "happy chemicals" and how our habits impact them, we can re-regulate our bodies with simple everyday habits. This can lead to improved motivation, stronger social connections, better mood, and reduced stress.

Sound intriguing? I thought so too! So, I dove in headfirst and have broken down my top takeaways in this four-part series.

Here’s the breakdown: