The Soybel's "hosted" Easter this year which was probably as insane as it sounds since we live in a one bedroom apartment. Aunt Kaylin and cousin Hazel made the trek down from NJ and spent the weekend with us. We also turned Isla's bassinet into a standard size big baby crib the same weekend and I am slightly not OK about it. She is growing like a weed!

I got Hazel a matching PB Kids basket and my sister and I filled them with extra cute baby stuff (they are only 8 months apart). We let them "open" them together in their matching bunny jammies. Getting a picture of them in the hats was literally impossible so I stopped even trying. Hazel had her first peanut butter cup and I it was so awesome it put her in a tonic state for about thirty minutes. After dressing them up in their Easter best we headed to my in-laws for dinner, dessert, and trivial pursuit. Me, Mike, and Isla did not forget to take our standard holiday family pic in the front yard, in case you were worried. Side note - I actually wore this exact dress last Easter with my little 18 week bump!

I know I am not a "blogger" anymore but I had to snap a couple shots of my baby's first Easter basket. Making a basket for a seven month old isn't challenging per se, but you definitely are limited as they don't yet partake in sweets or even know how to "hunt" for eggs. We filled Isla's with a PB Kids stuffed bunny, some Baby GAP bunny jammies (we also got some for cousin Hazel to match), an Old Navy straw hat, the cute H&M bunny ears are courtesy of Auntie Steph, and lastly, this fun little "That's Not My Bunny" book which was sent to me c/o Lauren Hawkes. The book is part of a collection of adorable "touch and feel" books that have bright illustrations and patches of different textures on each page. We already have "That's Not My Panda" which I got as a shower gift and she loves to touch the pages (and honestly tries to eat each one - let's be real EVERYTHING goes in the mouth now). Make sure you check our her page (here) to purchase these awesome baby reads! I also splurged on a personalized Easter basket from Pottery Bard this year because I think she will use it for a long time and it was too cute with the little bun bun ears. Being a mom of one makes you 100% #EXTRAAF but I love it!

Sometimes I forget how much I love DC. We (well at least I) walk around bundled to the nose with our blanket scarves until what feels like MAY just trying to survive whatever winter vortex BS is coming at us on our morning commutes...and then springtime arrives and shakes us all out of our winter fog with the most stunning display of cherry blossoms. It's basically like the fancy nature version of the Met Gala to commence the best chunk of the year and in 2019, I was HERE FOR IT. I did a quick engagement shoot for some friends during peak bloom and got some photos of these babies in all their glory. We later had a little picnic with some friends who also have adorable babies and capitalized on the opportunity. Isla had a little love connection on the picnic blanket! You definitely don't need a real camera or to be into photography to capture their magic, I saw some amazing iPhone pictures of them this year but here are a few I was able to get last month. 

As a side note - like how I said last month there? I quite like this not being a blogger thing. I feel lighter and, more importantly, zero guilt about the last post being dated six whole weeks ago.   

After dusting off my camera to snap some shots of the family last Saturday, I realized I hadn't really used a new lens I purchased for myself late last year as much as I thought I would after having a baby. The iphone is just so much more convenient for photos on the fly. I decided to really just play with the manual settings until I got more comfortable with it and my little I made a great model for the occasion since we were just playing on a blanket on the living room floor in her jammies. I spent thirty minutes or so just snapping photos adjusting as I went, but I love how a few of these portraits came out of her just being her, eating her rattle and snuggling with her pink blankie (her security blanket). I have tons more to learn but feel excited about getting better at it and being able to capture her for years to come. Her eyes are so beautiful at this age, I hope they stay!

Hello and welcome to the new face of Currently Coveting. I know I have taken a lot of time off from blogging in the last few months and I would love to just blame it on the tiny human that is currently taking command of most of my waking hours but it's been more than that. My heart has weighed heavily for months thinking to myself over and over again.."what to do about the blog?"

My first thought was to just shut it down completely. I was very seriously thinking about throwing in the towel and calling it a good run, because it was. I love this blog and have poured countless hours of work and love into it over the years, but frankly, laying in my pajamas and snuggling with my child, attempting a new recipe from my Cravings cookbook, catching up with girlfriends, or even organizing my fridge are all things I would rather be spending my time doing over stressing about posting my next #ootd.

The time and energy it takes to first capture whatever I am wearing to an event or holiday, finding links to those things I am wearing, loading and editing the photos, getting the outfit post up in enough time for the links to still be current, then promoting the new post on Instagram & Facebook while attempting to keep up with hashtags only to have the whole process start again literally the day after you get something up is just not something I have the drive for anymore and I have come to really be at peace with that fact.

The stress about how much time had passed since the last post was just too much to bear and for what? It wasn't fun to be worried about it and also so unnecessary. I am not a full time blogger but felt this need to be doing the same things that women who do this as a full time job were doing, which is crazy. I would be overcome with a tinge of guilt each moment that slipped through my fingers that was "instagrammable" that I didn't capitalize on and I am done with that. I have no extra sliver of life left to waste with that emotion, especially since going back to work full time. Every moment outside of work is precious.

Then I thought about re-branding. For a long time I have felt this secret wave of ickyness when someone would refer to me as a "fashion blogger" because I truly didn't mean for it to turn into a fashion blog. I don't know what I am doing more than half the time, I know people in my immediate circle that are MUCH better at it (and don't blog about it) and I really have zero business telling anyone how to dress. I did try to simply showcase the things I happened to wear without coming off like I was some kind of fashion expert but the weird feeling was still there. I realized I didn't want to re-brand what was, I wanted to fully start over.

I needed to figure out a way to archive the old "Currently Coveting" (I couldn't full on murder her) while also creating a new space to begin anew. When I stripped away all the things that were making "blogging" unenjoyable for me I realized I was left with a love of capturing moments with my camera, editing those photos, and writing a bit about where/when I was in those moments. I don't know why it's taken me this long to figure it out but I clearly wanted to transition to more of a "journal/diary" space  long ago where I could focus on my actual life, my family, my friends, my trips, our holidays, etc. So that is where we are now. I am so very happy you are here and would love for you to stick around. Please visit my FAQ page to get more insight on the transition and what changes you can expect.

Now about these photos...our little tribe of three was all set and ready to take little miss Isla to her second 1st birthday party of the month when we got a flat tire on the way. We made a valiant attempt to fix the issue by stopping at two separate gas stations for air but alas, the tire would not cooperate. Luckily, we were only a mile or so from our home so we turned around, settled back in on the rainy afternoon, and were left all dressed with no where to be. Mike decided to get back into his comfy clothes but since Isla was looking cute as a button in her little floral blouse I decided to dust of the old DSLR and snap some pics of her. She just turned 6 months old and is starting to hold her own weight very well. She can stand assisted and sit up on her own. I love this age and how cuddly she is. I could kiss that peach fuzzy head all day.