Almost a year ago my family and I left home in Connecticut to quarantine in California.

It was a polarizing choice; one that we struggled to make. Some disagreed. Others applauded it. But ultimately it was a legal one, and we travelled in the safest way possible; for the sake of our family.

It didn’t take long before a NYT reporter, and former classmate of mine, blasted me and my choices all over her page.

It’s no secret {or surprise} that over the last six plus years my body has changed quite a bit. I was 29 when I began fertility treatments for our first baby, and it didn’t take long before the hormone injections, pills and the immense amount of stress began to make some unwanted alterations to my body.

I gained a significant amount of weight with Maddie- several pounds before she was even conceived- and it took roughly seventeen months after she was born before I felt truly comfortable in my body again.

Just in time for us to begin fertility treatments for baby number two.

Dear Lila Lee.

You, my love, turn 18 months old tomorrow. How? Since entering motherhood some five years ago I’ve become all too familiar with the fact that time is a thief. But this past year she’s been especially artful in her craft- the start of the pandemic feeling both like yesterday and a lifetime away; creating a cruel time warp that still has us reeling.

By popular demand, I finally sat down and compiled a list of my local favorite restaurants down here in Charleston. I’m confident this will forever be a work in progress- the options here are endless and I have struggled to find a bad meal in our new city.

Hello, and welcome to our entryway!

If you’ve watched my IG stories over the last six months, you’ve likely caught a glimpse of this space.

It’s been a work in progress, but after adding this piece of furniture and a few decorative elements, it’s now one of my favorite corners of our new home.

This past weekend was the lazy, cozy kind. And it was just what we all needed. It feels like we have been going nonstop the last few months- you know, moving during a pandemic, starting Kindergarten, holidays etc- so the Matkovics were in the market for a little reset.
So we stayed in our cozies for most of the day, and I threw together a yummy, but SUPER simple, homemade chicken soup.
And so many of you requested the recipe, so here it is…

Happy Black Friday! I hope everyone had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving and that today brings all the lazying around and leftovers. We’ll be spending the day with family and friends playing a good old fashion game of flag football; but I do plan on sneaking in a little shopping to take advantage of all the Black Friday deals- like the 45% off sale at my favorite poster and print shop, Poster Store.

Well here it is: my sixth and final 2020 gift guide. This one is for the guys and includes all the goodies fit for the men in our lives.

OK, folks- here it is. The highly requested gift guide for the hostess. And truly, this might be one of my favorites yet.

These little gifts would be the perfect way to spread a little love to the hosts and hostesses in our lives this year- whether in person or virtually, I’ve got you covered.

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing weekend and is excited for the fresh week ahead. We took it easy over here at the Matkovic house - we moved slow, enjoyed the Charleston sunshine, and got a few things done around the house. It was just the speed we needed to refresh before the holidays are officially here.

You guys- nothing makes me happier than to report that I am typing this blog post from the comfort of my new desk chair, at my new desk in my home office. Ah, the tiny victories of 2020 that keep us all going.

In today’s gift guide I’m sharing some of my picks for the little kiddos in our lives- most of which I have on my list for our Lila Lee:

It’s here folks: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

And I’m not sure about you, but I’ve been looking forward to it since early March. In fact, if you follow along on Instagram you might recall we had not one, but two {much needed} impromptu “Christmas” celebrations earlier this year to lift our spirits during quarantine. Nothing like a little fir tree, red and green garland, matching family PJs and a Christmas puzzle to put a smile on your face.

Hey, y’all! Happy Monday!

Hope everyone had a beautiful weekend and that your weeks are off to a great start! Ours got off to a very early start today, but LL is giving me a much needed nap time right now, so I have a few minutes to share my fourth installment of my 2020 gift guides: Stocking Stuffers. This list has a few inexpensive trinkets to fill your stockings with for all ages.

Well, we made it to Friday, folks!

And I don’t think there’s ever been a more deserved weekend.
This weekend I’ll be continuing the birthday celebration with a little dinner with friends and I can’t wait for some much needed laughter, cheers and delicious food.

For the last few years my extended family and a group of close friends have replaced traditional gifts with eachother for one big, good old fashion game of Secret Santa. We typically organize it through the site, Elfster- it’s super easy to use and organize everyone’s wishlists; and then swap gifts at an annual Christmas Eve dinner we would have at our favorite Connecticut restaurant.