The Better Bottle

Roscoes Jammies are Burt’s Bees Baby and drinking out of The Better Bottle

Between lots of helping hands that want to feed Roscoe and a summer packed full of road trips I’ve been on the hunt for a good bottle. I needed to find that he’d take (I’m still nursing and don’t want to wean him yet) and I wanted to make sure it was safe. The Better Bottle reached out to me and after reading about them I was excited to give them a try. These bottles are safer because the technology they use creates a glasslike surface without the weight of a glass bottle or risk of breaking like glass does. Sounds like a win win, right! I’ve had the bottles for a couple weeks and am happy to say that Roscoe is drinking from them great and will still nurse without a problem. And this might sound weird but I swear he spits up less after using this bottle compared to others we’ve tried. He spits up a lot so this is huge for us. Go check them out if you’ve got a little one and I promise you won’t be disappointed. These bottles convert to a sippy cup once your baby is ready to transition which is great too. If you have any questions let me know and if you have any tips for a happy baby on long car rides please share in the comments. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

xxoo, Mishelle

Thanks to The Better Bottle for partnering with me on this post. All thoughts and options are my own.

Cooking Class

My Gravy Girls and I thought it would be so fun to do a cooking class while we were all together.  Monique found the cutest place that was perfect for us crazy ladies!  We had a blast cooking at The Social Table in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.  The food we made was delish!!  The shrimp salad was definitely my favorite, I couldn’t stop eating it!  I can’t wait to recreate it for my family.

If you’re ever interested in trying a cooking class I highly recommend it, especially if you go with a group of fun friends!

xo,

Mishelle

We’re gonna need a bigger goat!

My girlfriends from Alabama planned a weekend up in Chicago and I was so excited to see them!  We call ourselves the Gravy Girls.  We all became friends a few years ago, Amy, Moniqe, and I lived in the same neighborhood in Alabama.  Monique was new to the neighborhood and wanted to get together with some ladies, she met Amy and wanted to host a dinner and asked Amy to invite some friends over.  Long story short we all got together (along with Meredith who couldn’t make it to Chicago) and while we were eating we talked about what gravy is to us.  Monique made the most amazing dinner (her cooking is top notch) with her Nana’s gravy.  Coming from the West I think of gravy as potatoes and gravy with pot roast or turkey.  Amy thought of brown gravy over potatoes too, Meredith thinks of white gravy because that’s what she grew up with in the South.  Monique is from New Jersey and upstate New York and her gravy is what I call pasta sauce.  She has a recipe from her Nana and it is so good, I’ve craved it since moving away.  So that’s how we became the Gravy Girls and breaking bread together is kind of our thing so while they were here we had to try out some top rated restaurants in Chicago.  Chicago is known for it fabulous food and we weren’t disappointed once the entire weekend.

We went with a bit of a goat theme, we ate dinner at Little Goat Diner the first night the girls were in town.  It was amazing!!  If you’re there for breakfast/brunch I recommend their Bulls Eye French Toast, I went with some friends from here and it didn’t disappoint.  For dinner we ordered the Machos Nochos, my picture doesn’t do them justice.  They’re my favorite thing on the menu!  You really can’t go wrong with anything though, it’s all pretty fabulous.

The next night we went to Girl and The Goat which is the original restaurant (Little Goat Diner is like her little sis).  The owner/chef competed and won Bravo’s Top Chef.  Both restaurants are located in the West Loop which I love, it has such a fun atmosphere.  It’s really hard to get into Girl and The Goat so we were pretty excited that we managed to get a table.  The food was so amazing, I loved everything we got.  None of us had ever tasted goat and felt it necessary to do so while we were there.  We ordered the goat empanadas and they were delish!!  It’s a family style restaurant so we all tasted each others food and I can honestly say everything was really, really good!  I’m hoping I’ll be able to go back at least once before we make our move.  Try it out if you’re in town but don’t forget to make reservations (like three months in advance)!

Hope you’re not as hungry as I am now!

xo,

-Mishelle

Lately

We shared that we’re expecting baby #4 in November!!  We’re so excited to have another baby.  As of right now Elle’s hoping for a sister, Tommy’s hoping for a brother, and Billy says he’ll be happy no matter what.  Joel and I are with Billy, just praying for a healthy baby.

More news… We’re making the move from Chicago to Salt Lake City this summer.  Joel accepted a job for a freeze dryer company located in North Salt Lake.  He’s been working there for the past month and traveling back and forth from work to see the family on the weekends.  Fingers crossed we sale our house!!

My mom came to visit and help pack us up and move us out.  When she got here she let me try her bronzer and I was obsessed!  She went to Ulta and got one for me and a mini me version for Elle (since she steals all my makeup anyway).  I’ve been using it everyday, it’s a must have!!

I have to add this because I’ve been blowing my insagram up with pics of peonies from my yard.  They’re my favorite flower!  I have about six bushes in my backyard so my house was filled with vases of them in every room.  These are the last of them and it’s making me a little sad that my peony season is ending.

How cute is this blush!?!  Nars Orgasm (sorry about the name, I swear I’m not a pervert) is the perfect blush with just the right amount of color.  My mom and I love it so much!  The normal size blush is about $30 but this special is $39 and almost twice the size.  While I was at Nordstrom with my girlfriends I spotted it and grabbed one for my me and one for my mom.  When I got home from my girlfriend weekend I found out that my mom had ordered one for each of us from Nars.  They say great minds think alike, pretty sure my mom’s makeup preferences have rubbed off on me!

I’ll be sharing some of the fun things my girlfriends and I did in Chicago and our favorite spots we ate ate later this week so check back if you’re planning a trip to the windy city!  Hope you have a great day!

xo,

Mishelle

** All of these pics are taken with my iPhone and were originally posted to Instagram.  You can follow me @calicrest

A Week at the Lake

 

We spent a little over a week out west visiting Joel’s family at their lake house in Northern Idaho.  We had so much fun hanging out with family, playing in the water, teaching kids to wakeboard, and riding roller coasters at Silverwood.  On the last day there we snapped some pics of the kids playing, which by the way it’s a lot harder to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time than you’d think!  We had a great week and can’t wait to return next summer for some more Schurtz Family fun!

Hope you’re having a great summer!!

xoxo,
-M

 

Chicago

We made it to Chicago!!  We’ve been busy the last couple weeks unpacking, meeting new friends, neighbors, and just trying to get settled in our new home.  We decided it was time to get out and be tourists in the city we now call home.

We rode the train into the city, rode the subway, busses, and did a lot of walking, it was a blast!  The kids begged to go to the Zoo so that was the main attraction this trip.  The weather was perfect, the animals were cute (especially the baby gorilla), and the price can’t be beat (the Chicago Zoo is free everyday, who knew??).

We had so much fun exploring, taking in the sites, and eating good food.  I’m pretty sure you can go just about anywhere and the food will be amazing!

We ended the day with full bellies, tired feet, and some great memories.  I can’t wait until our next trip to the city, I have a feeling I’m going to fall in love with Chicago!

-M

BRIGHT

Shop This Outfit —  J.Crew T-Shirt (25% off with code SALETREAT)  |  J.Crew Skirt  |  Steve Madden Heels  |  Ily Couture Necklace  |  Kate Spade Earrings  |  Similar Bracelet  |  Ray-Ban Sunglasses  |  MAC Miley Cyrus Lipstick

With the warm weather I’ve been loving bright colors, I just need a tan to go along with it! 😉  Hope you all have a great weekend, thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,
-M

FLORAL

Shop This Outfit — Anthropologie Shirt  |  Gap Jeans  |  Similar Heels here and here  |  Karen Walker ‘Super Duper’ Sunglasses  |  Similar Bracelets here and here  |  MAC Angel Lipstick and Cultured Lipgloss

 Hope your week is off to a great start.  Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo,
-M

ready for the water…

 

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With Joel gone and my kids having such busy schedules I’m so ready for summer!  We’ll be going back West for part of the summer to visit family so I’ve been busy shopping for cute swimsuits and swim accessories instead of packing up my house.  I’m loving this bright suit from J.Crew!  Where’s your favorite place to get swimsuits?  I’m on the hunt for something with good coverage, as flattering as a suit can be, and cute of course!

xoxo,
-M

Mother’s Day Wish List

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Mother’s Day is only a couple weeks away and I’ve put the perfect gift ideas that are all under $100.  You can’t go wrong with pink, a nice white blouse, or a fresh scent.  Hope this helps give you some good ideas for the Mother’s in your life.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

xoxo,
-M